Bounced Check

[forthekids24]

Hi Soc,

One more question on the check that BM bounced to DH in October.

We sent all demands for payment as required by CA Bad Check law to her.

CA law says we can ask for a statutory penalty also.  (3x check amount, maximum of $1,500)

Check was for reimbursements of the Childrens Expenses, including Tuition.  We may have to file contempt charges to get her to pay.  She has not paid anything for the kids since Sept.

She called DH a few weeks ago and let him know she would be paying everything outstanding this month.  We want to send her a total so she has it handy.

Question

1) Would it hurt us in any way to ask for the stautory penalty from her if we have to file contempt if she doesn't pay this month?

2) Will a family court make her pay all the amounts past due including the statuory penalty?

Thanks for your help!!!
FTK

[socrateaser]

>1) Would it hurt us in any way to ask for the stautory penalty
>from her if we have to file contempt if she doesn't pay this
>month?

Well, you can't ask the family court to hear a purely civil matter, i.e., bounced check, in a pleading for contempt, however, if you managed to prove that she bounced the check incident to proving the the contempt itself, then you could ask the court to find that she did bounce the check, and therefore that you are entitled to the penalty amount.

Whether the court would actually give you judgement for the penalty amount, or whether you would have to then sue the mother in small claims using the contempt judgment as proof, I don't know. It really depends on the family law judge and whether you've managed an easy proof.

>
>2) Will a family court make her pay all the amounts past due
>including the statuory penalty?

Well, you would have to collect the statutory penalty as an ordinary civil debt... you won't get it as part of the contempt, because it's not.