Going to court, any help/advice?

Hey guys, I'm taking a guy to court over $941.71 left from a $1941.71 loan that he is being a little bitch about paying back. I lent him the money on the premise that he had been approved for a 10k loan and that I would be paid back within a week. I lent the money in order for him to come to NY and attend a workshop that me and my business partner at the time, who is a friend of this guy, were running. He was making weekly payments, but I haven't recieved any in several weeks and he believes it's his right to take as long as he takes, due to the fact that he works in a low paying job and has living expenses and a car and such.

He seems to think that by going to court, they will side with him and allow him to set the payment terms, due to his car needing fixing and thinking his credit card is more important of a debt. I'm quite sure that the court will side with me and tell him to liquidate his assets in order to pay me as much as he can (he HAS $400 as well, but doesn't feel like coming and giving it to me).

I'll be taking this to small claims court and taking care of my own legal matters, whereas he says he has a lawyer. If anyone has any experience in these matters, information would be appreciated (I of course know that nothing said here is legally binding, I won't take anything as gospel, so have your say and don't worry about liability). Knowledge is power, so I'd like as much as I can handle, then the rest will just be a matter of vengence. I've vowed to make him angry at his friends for ever introducing us, for ever hearing my name, so any help is appreciated, as this has become a serious vendetta. I can't take him to court for all the slander that he's been spreading around, but I can hurt him as much as I can with this.

i can tell you one thing. if he can afford to hire a lawyer for this then he can pay you back.
also have you tried proffesional mediation. im not sure how it goes in america but here u have to go through a process for claims such as these. mediation involves sitting down like a counselling session and if the problem doesnt get solved (a mediator attends) then it can go to court. im not familiar with the us legal system tho so as u said dont take this as gospel

Well, I talked to someone today that informed me that the court would give him 3 months to pay and if he were to show proof that he is saving money up to pay me back, then he would be given more time anyways. He apparently has $400 for me and he is just too lazy and finding excuses to be a bitch about it, so he doesn't feel like coming to give it to me. I know that he won't jeopordize things he's been working towards by never paying me, so basically taking him to court will achieve nothing but waste my time and energy and use his money that would be better spent paying me back sooner.

I think the justice system is flawed.

Yes, in America you can go through mediation to settle "out of court". It's not a professional counselor per say but basically you have legal counsel. A lawyer or maybe legal aid, something like that, that you meet with and iron out the details. However, I don't know how the Canadian system works.

Rye, my advice is do not go in with the emotional vengeance. Go in instead with leverage, and have a clear plan to use that leverage. Something that he doesn't want to "mess up" or to come to public light. USE THAT. But do not use vengeance in court. Instead, go about it UNEMOTIONAL, win the case, and your vengeance will be served anyway.

I've been through court SOOOOOOOOO many times, mainly because of ex's. I know how the judges here in America operate, and if Canada is anything similar, this is the tactic you need to take.

And yes, the justice system is flawed. Actually, it's pretty much shattered, but we have to use it.