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Where do I sue in small claims court for an eBay transaction gone bad?

Asked over 2 years ago - Mountain View, CA

Lawsuits

I bought a car off eBay from a dealer in Virginia. I had the car shipped to me in California. The car has issues that were not disclosed in the listing that will require $1500 to repair.

I may have to sue him in small claims court. Where do I sue him? My first thought would be that I have to sue in his county. But since he's selling to customers all over the U.S., technically he's doing business where the customers are. So could I sue him in my county (Santa Clara)?

Thanks in advance,

Additional information
Also, I am assuming that small claims court allows me to sue for the costs of bringing suit, so I could technically sue for up to the max allowed in the county ($5000 in Virginia) to re-coup my travel costs, time spent, etc. Am I correct?

To answer Alexander's question, yes I am starting my dispute resolution with PayPal/eBay first. The lawsuit is the last resort. Thanks for the info. I'll check it out.

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Attorney answers (2)

Alexander Miles Medina

Reputation Level 6

Answered over 2 years ago. Litigation Lawyer in Sacramento, CA.

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Have you gone through eBay first? Ebay and PayPal have a pretty sophisticated dispute resolution process.

Yours is a common issue arising under contract law. Since the dealer sold the car to you in California, you should be able to sue the dealer in California because it intended to do business (and did business) in California, and thus there would be "personal jurisdiction" to sue the dealer in California. Serving the dealer with the lawsuit could be another story, but there are ways to serve an out of state business. The small claims limit in California is $7,500, and you are able to recover your costs, but the amount is up to the judge's discretion. Check the website for the Superior Court in Santa Clara County and there should be a fairly detailed "how to" guide on small claims actions.

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Jonathan H Levy

Reputation Level 19

Answered over 2 years ago. International Law Attorney in Washington, DC.

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Unfortunately your costs in small claims are going to be limited to out of pocket expenses like the filing fee and service of process. Additionally, you need to give thought as to how you will enforce any California judgment in Virginia?

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