An email alone is not sufficient to be deemed a promissory note or negotiable instrument that can be sued on for nonpayment. However, the email can be used as evidence to support an oral promise to pay (or pieced together with other written evidence to show a rudimentary written agreement). At any rate, if there was a promise to pay and there is enough evidence to support such promise, then there may be enough for a lawsuit to succeed. Whether a lawsuit has merit and is worth pursuing depends on many factors, including, for example, how much is owed, how easy is it to satisfy a judgment, etc.

To sue on a promise to pay in another state requires first obtaining a judgment in whatever state has jurisdiction over the debtor (usually his or her state residence). Once there is a judgment in the other state, that judgment can be enforced through the court system of any other state.


Elio Palacios, Jr.
Managing Attorney
Palacios Law Office
Telephone: (951) 710-6139
Email: info@PalaciosLawOffice.com
www.PalaciosLawOffice.com

This answer is not legal advice or a solicitation of anyone as a client nor the engaging in the practice of law in any jurisdiction. The answer is merely for information/education and should not be relied upon for legal advice by the original poster or the general public because the facts of the original question may not be complete or may be different from someone else's situation.