"Don't press charges, and I'll pay you what I owe you. . . ."
Q. I am owed $330 by someone for a purchased plane ticket. This same person assaulted me and I originally decided not to press charges. I received a letter in the mail stating that I would recieve my money if I signed something saying I would never press charges. Is this legal? Is there a way to get my money without signing this?
A. You've got an interesting life going on here. You bought someone a plane ticket, who then assaulted you, and now will only pay you back if you agree not to press charges for assault. I'm thinking your first step is to get yourself some different friends. But that's not what you wrote me about.
About the $330. Assuming this other person (I can't call this person a "friend," because friends don't act like this) agreed to pay you for the ticket if you bought it, you relied on that agreement before buying the ticket, then you bought it and gave it to this person, you have a valid claim against this person for the amount agreed to. It's based on an oral contract. (I'm assuming it was an oral agreement; if you've got something in writing, so much the better.) You agree to pay $330 dollars for a ticket that this person agrees to reimburse you for. That's a contract. The dollar amount is obviously not huge, which is why your best bet is to file a claim in small claims court in your state. Your local courthouse can give you all the information you need and, the best part is, you usually don't need a lawyer on a case like this. (Of course, I should caution you that winning the case and actually collecting the money are two separate things, and it's not always easy to collect. But that's a separate issue.)
It may be that the other person will deny the contract, or say something like, "I only asked her to look into a ticket; I didn't actually agree to pay her," then the case gets harder. Any documentation you might have to back up the terms of the agreement would be very helpful in court.
Now, as to the the demand for a waiver of your right to press criminal charges before you get paid back. Don't. No need to. The contract is valid and enforceable (assuming, of course, that there was an actual agreement to begin with). Once that agreement was made, and you performed your part, the other person was legally obligated to perform their part -- namely, pay you back.
In fact, you may now have an additional charge on top of the assault. It's generally not legal for someone to make this kind of demand. Some call it "extortion." It would be a tough case to prove in the long run, but it might be a bargaining chip for the prosecutor. You should mention this scenario to the prosecutor when you sign your complaint against this other person for assault. Let me say, though, that if you're in a situation where this person might continue to try to cause you physical harm if you press charges, make sure you have a safe place to go, and a way to stay away from this person before filing a charge that might set someone off. I know that I'm probably overthinking this, but since I don't know anything about your situation, I prefer to err on the side of caution, and so should you.
On a personal note, no one should have to put up with someone assaulting them, for any reason. In my humble opinion, you shouldn't be wasting time with people who hurt you. Take care of yourself, and be careful. I truly hope everything works out for you.
Best of luck.
A. You've got an interesting life going on here. You bought someone a plane ticket, who then assaulted you, and now will only pay you back if you agree not to press charges for assault. I'm thinking your first step is to get yourself some different friends. But that's not what you wrote me about.
About the $330. Assuming this other person (I can't call this person a "friend," because friends don't act like this) agreed to pay you for the ticket if you bought it, you relied on that agreement before buying the ticket, then you bought it and gave it to this person, you have a valid claim against this person for the amount agreed to. It's based on an oral contract. (I'm assuming it was an oral agreement; if you've got something in writing, so much the better.) You agree to pay $330 dollars for a ticket that this person agrees to reimburse you for. That's a contract. The dollar amount is obviously not huge, which is why your best bet is to file a claim in small claims court in your state. Your local courthouse can give you all the information you need and, the best part is, you usually don't need a lawyer on a case like this. (Of course, I should caution you that winning the case and actually collecting the money are two separate things, and it's not always easy to collect. But that's a separate issue.)
It may be that the other person will deny the contract, or say something like, "I only asked her to look into a ticket; I didn't actually agree to pay her," then the case gets harder. Any documentation you might have to back up the terms of the agreement would be very helpful in court.
Now, as to the the demand for a waiver of your right to press criminal charges before you get paid back. Don't. No need to. The contract is valid and enforceable (assuming, of course, that there was an actual agreement to begin with). Once that agreement was made, and you performed your part, the other person was legally obligated to perform their part -- namely, pay you back.
In fact, you may now have an additional charge on top of the assault. It's generally not legal for someone to make this kind of demand. Some call it "extortion." It would be a tough case to prove in the long run, but it might be a bargaining chip for the prosecutor. You should mention this scenario to the prosecutor when you sign your complaint against this other person for assault. Let me say, though, that if you're in a situation where this person might continue to try to cause you physical harm if you press charges, make sure you have a safe place to go, and a way to stay away from this person before filing a charge that might set someone off. I know that I'm probably overthinking this, but since I don't know anything about your situation, I prefer to err on the side of caution, and so should you.
On a personal note, no one should have to put up with someone assaulting them, for any reason. In my humble opinion, you shouldn't be wasting time with people who hurt you. Take care of yourself, and be careful. I truly hope everything works out for you.
Best of luck.
posted by David Kendall at
12:32 AM
3 Comments:
Interesting post here. I just had a client come ask me about a similar situation. An acquaintance broke into her home, assaulted her and her child and now wants to pay her not to press charges. The situation is a little different, none the less it seems like a K that is against public policy.
By
St. Petersburg Injury lawyer, at 4:51 PM
I'm not lie... I took some money that didn't belong to and I'm more than embarrassed about. I was going thru a rough patch in my life and I saw an opportunity. It was wrong and I'm ashamed of what I've done. People found out about it and agreed to let me pay it back. I've already given them a substantial amount already. They told me that this would stay between us, but now... they are broadcasting it to everyone. My question is can they still press charges against me once I made the first payment and have a receipt to prove it? They agreed not to let it get out as long as I pay it back.. but they are not sticking to their part of the oral agreement. They me no time table in which I had to pay it back either. They said just pay it back
By
Anonymous, at 9:23 AM
That's probably extortion in of itself. Extortion is a felony usually. You could consult a lawyer.
By
Anonymous, at 11:09 PM
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