So.... you're going to try suing a minor for breech of contract? I'm pretty sure you can't add his parents to a claim, because the contract wasn't valid in the first place.
IANAL, either, though, so maybe someone will clear this up for me. I've never really understand why you could sue a minor for breaking your window, but not for failing to fulfill a contractual obligation -- or if this could even be considered a contract since it was an "immediate" transaction. Pretty sure minors couldn't get away with taking goods from a store and not paying, but I guess that'd be a more clear-cut case of theft.
Oh, well - interested to see what comes of this. Shitty situation for everyone - sorry you both are going through this.
Option 1
What if an adult makes a contract with a minor because the minor claims to be over eighteen?
If a minor lies about his or her age when signing a contract, and the other person had good reasons to believe that the minor was capable of making a contract, the minor will not be allowed to cancel the contract.
Option 2
If the minor knowingly makes a false representation about his age for the purpose of acquiring goods or services then claiming the defense of infancy, the minor could be committing the crime of theft by deception. While minors may void contracts they can still be charged with a crime if their intent is criminal in nature.
Paypal accounts require you to be 18 years old.
2.1 Eligibility. To be eligible to use the PayPal Services, you must be at least 18 years old and a resident of the United States or one of the countries listed on the PayPal WorldWide page. This Agreement applies only to Users who are residents of the United States. If you are a resident of another country, you may access the agreement that applies to you from our website in your country.
TheBitman Lied about his Age by creating a Paypal account, when using that account he commited fraud by lying about his age.
If the small claims case gets throw out, I will proceed with a criminal compliant on fraud charges.
I'd assume the judge would claim that the minor claiming he was an adult doesn't make the minor an adult, and his lie doesn't change the law, in the same way you couldn't have sex with a minor even if the minor claimed he/she was an adult.
You could tell PayPal he lied about his age, which is a ToS violation, so it might be even more difficult for BitMan to recover funds from them, but that sounds counter-productive. It seems like a tragedy to press criminal charges against someone because they had PayPal funds frozen and didn't have reserve funds to cover the problem. I strongly suggest he tells his parents, now, as I believe that was previously only being considered.
I'll check with some other lenders and see if we can get this situation resolved amicably for everyone. Please do not press criminal charges against him...
ETA: Hrm. After talking with someone else... I take back everything I've read in this thread, assuming the BitMan is not a minor. If BitMan is a minor, I'd be willing to go splitsies on a notarized, co-signed, secured loan to him.
Minors are allowed to disaffirm and, in effect, to walk away from most of the contracts they enter. This, of course, is one of the reasons merchants usually refuse to enter contracts with minors unless a parent or other financially responsible adult co-signs. Contracts that a minor can disaffirm are voidable, meaning they can be invalidated by choice. A voidable contract, however, is valid and enforceable unless and until it is canceled.
If the minor still has what he received from the other party, he must return it to the other party upon seeking to avoid the contract. If he does not return the property in such a situation, he cannot avoid the contract. If the minor cannot return what he has received pursuant to the contract because it has been spent, damaged or destroyed, he still can avoid the contract. He can avoid the contract and is only required to return that part of the consideration he still has. Even if he has nothing left, or what he has is damaged property, he still can avoid the contract.
Helen, age 17, wanted to buy a motorcycle. She did not have the money to pay cash but persuaded the dealer to sell a cycle to her on credit. The dealer did so partly because Helen said that she was 22 and showed the dealer an identification card that falsely stated her age as 22. Helen drove the motorcycle away. A few days later, she damaged it and then returned it to the dealer and stated that she avoided the contract because she was a minor. The dealer said that she could not do so because (a) she had misrepresented her age and (b) the motorcycle was damaged. Can she avoid the contract? Yes. In a state that follows the common law rule, neither the damage to the property nor Helen’s misrepresentation of her age will prevent her from avoiding the contract. Some states would hold that because of the misrepresentation of age, Helen must pay for the damage that she has done, but she can avoid the contract. A few states would hold that Helen cannot avoid the contract because she misrepresented her age.
