Old company is suing me for $1900, what do i do!?

[jlaw]

Wow, OP, you're a scumbag. You admittedly defrauded your employer, but you think you should win the lawsuit they filed against you because of what you did?

From what you have told us, it doesn't appear that proper service of process was made, since you don't live at that address. You may have an issue though since you are essentially defrauding the state (fraud again, interesting) by having your vehicle registered there; should you challenge service, I doubt a judge would look kindly on you. The caveat here is that I'm not admitted in California; consult a local attorney if you want legal advice.

Assuming it's within the applicable statute of limitations, contesting service won't really help you deal with the substantive issues in the lawsuit; they will serve you eventually if they want you bad enough.

Man up, own up to what you did, and take care of it. I would suggest contacting them and trying to settle.

[Seminole]

Originally Posted by yomama69

I've tried to refrain from posing in this thread, but what I will say is that I've never heard of "time fraud" as a cause of action. It might be something particular to the OP's state or a cause of action that some attorney is trying to have judicially created.

Also, since the OP said it is in small claims court, the owner of the company could be representing himself and just made up the term. Though I don't know how likely that would be with the company based out of GA and the OP in California.

[yomama69]

Originally Posted by jlaw

Wow, OP, you're a scumbag. You admittedly defrauded your employer, but you think you should win the lawsuit they filed against you because of what you did?

From what you have told us, it doesn't appear that proper service of process was made, since you don't live at that address. You may have an issue though since you are essentially defrauding the state (fraud again, interesting) by having your vehicle registered there; should you challenge service, I doubt a judge would look kindly on you. The caveat here is that I'm not admitted in California; consult a local attorney if you want legal advice.

Assuming it's within the applicable statute of limitations, contesting service won't really help you deal with the substantive issues in the lawsuit; they will serve you eventually if they want you bad enough.

Man up, own up to what you did, and take care of it. I would suggest contacting them and trying to settle.

I didn't want to get into it. I'm surprised you did. Now calculate your rate for that advice. Was the scumbag OP really worth your time?

[shift330]

Originally Posted by Seminole

Also, since the OP said it is in small claims court, the owner of the company could be representing himself and just made up the term. Though I don't know how likely that would be with the company based out of GA and the OP in California.

Time fraud is a commonly used term here in AZ

[jlstyle]

Shady.

[Comet]

I would assume you'd text that you were there when you actually weren't..
YDI

[Smac355]

"-The paper says that I(the defendant) owes $1939.
a.Why does the Defendant owe the Plaintiff money?
FALSIFYING TIMESHEETS AND RECORDS AND FALSIFYING AMOUNT OF PRODUCT SOLD TO INCREASE HOURLY RATE."

-See that falsifying part... yea u pretty much did that. Hope they are aren't 1addict fans and see u admitted to it. From an accounting perspective you didn't really make those sales since obviously they were "sold" with the intent to return them. I'm an auditor(super cool guy that i am) and that's one of the red flags we look for. By doing that you were screwing with how much money the company thought they were making etc. Enough BS though...doesn't really seem like they would have evidence against you tho. so you may be alrite.

Originally Posted by Smac355

"-The paper says that I(the defendant) owes $1939.
a.Why does the Defendant owe the Plaintiff money?
FALSIFYING TIMESHEETS AND RECORDS AND FALSIFYING AMOUNT OF PRODUCT SOLD TO INCREASE HOURLY RATE."

-See that falsifying part... yea u pretty much did that. Hope they are aren't 1addict fans and see u admitted to it. From an accounting perspective you didn't really make those sales since obviously they were "sold" with the intent to return them. I'm an auditor(super cool guy that i am) and that's one of the red flags we look for. By doing that you were screwing with how much money the company thought they were making etc. Enough BS though...doesn't really seem like they would have evidence against you tho. so you may be alrite.

hmm anyone know any idea what type of evidence I should bring with me? I don't have any type of evidence except the time sheets he did not pay me for. The reason why I had to do this is because the CEO was being shady on his part, so I had to take my own action. I would work some days and he would not pay me the full amount, or some days I would work and he would say I was not there. Very unprofessional on his part, but there is no way to prove that I was there. I don't know what to do, I'm only 21 and I've never been to court before. I figured I would try to call him to agree upon some sort of payment but, I spoke to a public defender and she said "time fraud" is one of the hardest things to prove. Any input would be greatly appreciated...

[quagmire]

Originally Posted by Gamble215

hmm anyone know any idea what type of evidence I should bring with me? I don't have any type of evidence except the time sheets he did not pay me for. The reason why I had to do this is because the CEO was being shady on his part, so I had to take my own action. I would work some days and he would not pay me the full amount, or some days I would work and he would say I was not there. Very unprofessional on his part, but there is no way to prove that I was there. I don't know what to do, I'm only 21 and I've never been to court before. I figured I would try to call him to agree upon some sort of payment but, I spoke to a public defender and she said "time fraud" is one of the hardest things to prove. Any input would be greatly appreciated...

Time fraud you may get out of, but you will not escape the sales part as A) You did admit to it B) They have evidence of you doing it. Like I said, YDI and pay up.

Originally Posted by quagmire

Time fraud you may get out of, but you will not escape the sales part as A) You did admit to it B) They have evidence of you doing it. Like I said, YDI and pay up.

i did not admit to fault to the person suing me

[quagmire]

Originally Posted by Gamble215

i did not admit to fault to the person suing me

But, you did admit here and as stated in the post, they have evidence that can connect you to buying and returning the products. Pay up and settle this out of court as this a guarantee losing case for you.

[ptack]

You have made a whole series of mistakes so let's just say you are in deep. That said, probably the best thing to do is talk more to a public defender, go to court and plead your case. You may have to pay in full, but maybe there's a chance you can cut a deal. Judges often urge both parties to settle.

[Mega Man]

I've never received one of these, where I'm being sued, but I have received money from class-action lawsuits being won from previous companies I've worked for. I mention this because I just received a notice today.

Previously, I won money: just under $300 from Starbucks, and under $40 from Blockbuster. Today, I received a notice that I am part of a class action lawsuit involving Abercrombie & Fitch, Hollister, Ruehl, and Gillihicks. I don't know how much I'll receive, and although the notice says A&F denies any wrong doing, I know after working for them that they have done wrong exactly what the notice says. Hopefully, the person who brought about the complaint wins and I receive some more "free" money.

I've known previously with my employment with other companies were doing things to cut my pay here or there, but I never took the time to complain high enough to get re-reimbursement.

[Comet]

just settle out of court..
you probably jipped them for more than 1900$

Originally Posted by Comet

just settle out of court..
you probably jipped them for more than 1900$

alright, if I settle this out of court, how do I make sure he doesn't sue me for 1939 and say I didn't pay him back his money? I'll pay up, just want to do it correctly. I am going to offer him 499 because he owes me more than 1400 in missing paychecks for the days that I worked.

[BK]

Originally Posted by Gamble215

alright, if I settle this out of court, how do I make sure he doesn't sue me for 1939 and say I didn't pay him back his money? I'll pay up, just want to do it correctly. I am going to offer him 499 because he owes me more than 1400 in missing paychecks for the days that I worked.

It's called a settlement and release of claims. Save your copy. You've gotten enough free legal advice in this thread -- for future legal advice, the best place to get it is to hire your own lawyer.

[swamp2]

Originally Posted by ptack

That said, probably the best thing to do is talk more to a public defender, go to court and plead your case.

You can not talk to a public defender and attorneys are not allowed in small claims court.

To the OP: Smalls claims is pretty chill I have been through it as the plaintiff quite a few times. You will be offered a chance for arbitration right before the case which is just off the record discussion between you, whomever the company sends to represent them (again it won't be an attorney) and the aribitrator. Even though what you did was definitely fraudulent if you were also being treated unfairly, unethically or perhaps even defrauded yourself that absolutely could be a mitigating factor. 2 wrongs certainly do not make a right. If you truly believe any contract between you and your employer (even verbal) was broken at their cause you might consider filing a counter suit which will be heard at the same time. It sounds like (other than your admission right here in writting) neither party has a lot of evidence. When this happens the judges in small claims are forced to really go with their gut. Often the claim and counter claim will effectively counter act each other. Now then again, if you are making up all that stuff about the CEO or your boss behaving shady, just try to settle with them before you even go to arbitration.

[blue2fire]

Maybe you can let him f*** you up the a** and then call it even.

thanks for all the advice guys, i agreed to pay 1,000

[The Cthulhu]

Smart move. Not to be a dick, but I hope you learned some integrity from the experience... Screwing retailers hurts them a lot more than you'd think. I'd rather be honest than make a little extra. At least you made things right.

+0.5