Can a Person Be Sued for Not Paying Someone?

Nonpayment of Rent

• When a tenant enters into a lease, he agrees to pay rent in exchange for the ability to live in a property for a specified amount of time. This time period is often one year. If he leaves and does not pay rent for the home for which he still has a lease, the landlord has the right to sue him. The landlord must attempt to rent the property to another tenant to limit his financial loss. The damages the tenant would owe the landlord equal rent for the amount of time the property was left vacant due to his abandoning the lease, plus any advertising and repair expenses the landlord incurred in efforts to get another tenant into the property. For example, his rent was $1,000 and he left the property six months before the lease expiration date. The landlord found a new tenant two months after he left, but the landlord incurred $1,000 of advertising and repair expenses. The landlord could sue him for $3,000, two months' rent plus the expenses incurred through re-renting the property.
  
  

Nonpayment for Services

• People perform services for you all of the time. Mechanics, plumbers, carpenters and painters all charge fees for their services and expect payment. If a client does not pay for services rendered by a contractor, that contractor has the right to file suit. Sometimes, the shoe is on the other foot and the contractor claims nonpayment when in fact, payment has been received. Entrepreneur online magazine discusses one of these cases in which a painter claimed nonpayment after a client made installment payments while the job was underway. No contract was drawn up and the painter did not give the client receipts, so the client had little in the way of a defense. In a situation like this, business attorney Nina Kaufman recommends examining the situation and determining what would cost more: going to court or paying the painter? Sometimes it is unwise to fight someone "on principle," Kaufman asserts.
  
  

Nonpayment of Wages

• Employers must pay employees for any and all hours they work, regardless of the company's financial situation. Companies also must honor agreements to pay overtime, hazard pay and other wages outside of the standard full-time hourly wage or salary. Claims for nonpayment of overtime and hazard pay are more common than claims for nonpayment of standard wages. If an employee does not receive the appropriate overtime or hazard pay, she may consult with a personal injury attorney and sue for damages, according to the Rasansky Law Firm.
  
  

Nonpayment of Credit

• Consumers often have student loans, as well as lines of credit with credit card companies, cell phone companies and banks. When a consumer does not make these payments, the company may sue. The company may also send the debt to a collection agency, which may also sue the consumer.
  
  

Considerations

• It is wise to pay what you owe before it gets to the point where someone has to sue. If there is a reason you are not paying, prepare your defense based on that reason. The plumber may have installed a pipe that exploded the day after he left or the painter may not have completed the job. There are two sides to every story. If someone is suing you for nonpayment, the worst thing you can do is a "no show" at the court hearing. Consult an attorney and discuss your options.