contract-law international
Can I seek English court action against a debt that was created in the US?
<p>I made an agreement with a friend to share a house while visiting the Massachusetts with said friend.
Now we are both back in the UK and he is refusing to pay. Does the debt exist in a country or can an English court order him to pay?</p>

<p>The agreement was made while we were both in Massachusetts.</p>

<p>The agreement was probably made and exists under US law, specifically the state in which you made the agreement. Enforcement can be sought in a UK court which will apply US law to it.</p>

<p>However, it is highly likely that your "agreement with a friend" is <strong>not</strong> a contract and will not be legally enforceable because it lacks one of the fundamental requirements of a contract: intention to create a legal relationship.</p>

<p>As detailed in <a href="https://law.stackexchange.com/questions/6263/what-is-a-contract-and-what-is-required-for-them-to-be-valid">What is a contract and what is required for them to be valid?</a> one of the presumptions the court will make is that an agreement of a family, domestic, <strong>social</strong> or voluntary nature is not intended to legally bind the participants. You would need evidence to overcome that presumption: a document stating this and signed by both of you would be best. Without this, if you go to court you will probably lose. Sorry.</p>

<p>Either way it looks like you will lose the friendship.</p>
