CanI suemy brother7 years after lendinghim money ifI don’t have a written note?
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CanI suemy brother7 years after lendinghim money ifI don’t have a written note?
My brother needed help so I loaned him $3500. He said he’d pay it back but since then he has lost his job and doesn’t work as far as I know. He doesn’t own anything except a 13 year old truck. I haven’t talked to him in years and figured I would try to do something now.
Asked on October 6, 2011 under Bankruptcy Law, Maryland
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
Unfortunately, it is probably too late to take legal action. There are time limits to bring legal action. The time limit for a loan made on an oral (or verbal) promise to repay appears to be three years in Maryland. That means that you only have three years from when the money should have been repaid to bring a legal action. While you do not write when the repayment was due, after seven years, it is mostl likely too late to take action. Furthermore, if he doesn't have an income and owns nothing except a 13-year-old truck, it is very unlikely that you could collect anything from him, even if you could sue him and won; your brother sounds like he is "judgment proof," in that there is little or no hope of enforcing a judgment against him.
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