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So I have this situation.
I worked at a restaurant as a temp job for almost a year, ending in June. Chanello's Pizza, run by Danielle Shamblin, as D&M Unlimited, Inc (dba Chanello's). In June, I left the job to move to California for an internship. I'm back in VA now.
So I knew I had 3 paychecks to come, and was going to have them mailed to me. I talked to Danielle every week or so, in regards to mailing the check, and she kept saying every week it was mailed, it was going to be mailed, it had been mailed, she had to re-mail it and re-issue it, so on and so forth. I didn't much mind - I left on pleasant terms, no problem, and if it took her time to mail it, that's fine, I appreciated it. After a few months, I knew something was fishy, and she stopped taking any calls and I couldn't get a hold of her.
I come back to VA after Thanksgiving, and find out she apparently left right after I did - she just ditched the store, and fucked everyone over (stringing me along the whole time). The old owner took over the store again, and apparently the IRS and all these people are owed a ton of money by her. From what I understand, she fled to Texas.
Now. I got one of the paychecks, but it was cancelled/bad, and I couldn't cash it. The other 2 paychecks, she must've kept, and I know (through her son) that they existed and she had them. I can't get the paychecks, and she has a lawyer representing her in Richmond, VA. She/they refuse to pay the paychecks, saying they'll pay that one bad paycheck, even though they still haven't done anything about it, and deny I worked for the time of the other 2 paychecks.
I got the time records or whatever proving that I worked there, and the records show exactly how many hours I worked and how much I should be paid. Her lawyer said they disagree about me working there, and say they don't believe those records.
I've went to the VA Department of Labor and Industry, and they say because her business no longer exists (D&M Unlimited), they can't do anything. Apparently, if you are a good person who issued a bad paycheck and are still in business, they can do something, but if you just fuck everyone over and flee the state, it's okay. So they won't help me. Corporate won't help me. The Civil claims court says I can't file a claim because I don't have her address to which to serve her, although I might be able to list her lawyer as whom to serve the papers to.
I just don't know what to do. A lawyer told me that I should call the police, because that single bad paycheck I have, is proof of a crime (bad check). I'm at my wits end here, I've tried searching online and I have no idea where she is (there's multiple addresses in Texas, no phone numbers, can't verify if it's her at any of those addresses or which one she's even at). I've called the police, but I don't know if they'll do anything about it though.
That's long. Basically I worked somewhere, I got 1 bad check and 2 more unpaid, and the Department of Labor won't do anything because she shut down her business and they can't do anything about businesses that aren't operating anymore and I can't file suit because she fled the state. I'm going to try to file a suit in civil court, and serve the papers to her lawyer, and try to get something going with the police, but I don't know.
 
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While I don't have any real legal advice I certainly can sympathize with you. Not getting paid for something sucks. Hopefully all turns out well and settled in the long run w/o too much effort on your part.
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If this woman screwed the IRS and her creditors out of their money, you're kind of low on the totem pole.
If they're telling you to go to the police do so, but don't hold out too much hope.
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Sounds like a shitty situation, Id just say youre out of luck and move on man =\
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I'd consider taking her to small claims court if it's a reasonable amount of money.
Edit: I mean serving her lawyer with the small claims summons since you don't know where she is.
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The thing I don't understand is why do you need her address to sue her? What kind of rule is that? What if she's homeless?
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On January 06 2012 06:24 Glacierz wrote:
The thing I don't understand is why do you need her address to sue her? What kind of rule is that? What if she's homeless?
Service of Process
You generally have to serve a legal notice to somebody in person, although the Wikipedia article goes into detail about the minutiae.
Edit: terms
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If such is the case why is it the victim's responsibility to find out her address?
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If the OP is able to get the police involved, it hopefully won't be his responsibility anymore.
But I doubt that.
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Hire a private investigator to find her address, and then go there and serve her the papers. Im sure it would only cost roughly $100, and you might be able to get that money back as well in small claims court.
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Calgary26003 Posts
I have no suggestions but that really sucks dude. She shouldn't get away with it. Get a few more details, post on Reddit and hope it blows up?
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Go to the poliice as adviced.
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Police cant do anything, they will just tell you to file a report and give him advice that he already received. Only way actually blow up this situation is what Chill said, use the internets to get this sucker. Shes also battling the IRS so its all fair.
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Good luck, hopefully you will can involved in a suit against her and get your money back. I doubt you will get paid without taking part in a suit at this point, good luck.
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Call the police first they will help you out more than posting on TL i promise.
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Tough luck man. Until the IRS sorts this out, you're going to be in limbo unless the company of her legal representation is prepared to re-imburse.
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Where's that smart ass TL lawyer guy when we need him? That does really suck, and I'm not sure what you can do about it seeing as it sounds like the owner doesn't have any money or assets to sue over. Even if she did, depending on how the business was structured it may not even be possible to sue her. LLC's specifically protect the assets of the owner from being liquidated to cover the liabilities of a business.
I guess there is a lesson to learn here though, don't let people string you along for weeks. You know now to report someone right away if you don't receive your paycheck for any reason.
On January 06 2012 07:17 Chill wrote:
I have no suggestions but that really sucks dude. She shouldn't get away with it. Get a few more details, post on Reddit and hope it blows up?
And this would do what exactly? Even if the powers of the internet can by some crazy circumstance find this woman, how is that going to help the OP to get his money back? If she even has any assets left, you are talking about spending quite a bit of time filing court paper work, followed by weeks of due process, after which she won't show up for the hearing anyway. In the end the court may order her to pay him but that doesn't mean she actually will. If she's not paying the IRS, what is the likelihood she is going to pay the OP. And after the amount of time and effort put in, you would probably have been able to easily make the money back working another job.
I know it sucks, but sometimes good people just get screwed. As long as you learn from the experience I think you can get something positive out of it.
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have 4chan fuck her complete life up.
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On January 06 2012 13:58 funkie wrote:
have 4chan fuck her complete life up.
This and what Chill said are kind of sad but sometimes work. if the IRS are on her case then I'm sure the police can somehow help you out.
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At this point I think the best advice is to try to put aside your negative emotions, and take the action that makes the most sense for you now, and going into the future. How much time is it going to take you to track her down? How much mental and emotional strain is it going to put you through? How much will it cost to pursue her in civil court? Compare that with the value of the unpaid cheques, and then take into account the chance that even if you track her down she may not have enough money.
It probably isn't worth your trouble?
If you really need an emotional release against her, I'd say make the criminal complaint.
Just remember: if the value of the cheques doesn't justify the effort required, forgetting it ever happened is good and healthy for you. If you're up late at night and can't get it out of your head, think "I need to be selfish and just let this slide. It is the selfish decision to just let it go." When you think of letting it go as selfish, it really strongly affirms that it is in YOUR best interest. Ignore the inequity; just be selfish and let it go.
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EPT
