The easiest way is to sue them in California. $17,000 would certainly be worth hiring a California attorney to enforce the claim for you. If California has a procedure like Connecticut for prejudgment remedies you can secure the claim up front with a garnishment of bank account, their accounts receivable in the hands of their clients or an attachment of real estate. This will assure that there funds to collect when it comes to obtaining a judgment.

I usually like to garnish a defendant's receivables because he has not yet received them, and is unable to dissipate them . If California has a procedure for a prejudgment remedy...it most likely has a procedure for discovery of assets also. Through this procedure you can determine early in the case whether the defendant has assets to pay the claim and whether it is worth your while to pursue it further.

If you contact the California State Bar Association they may be able to point you in the direction of local collection attorneys or refer you to an organization that maintains such a list. You will probably need to sue the defendant in the district in which it is located. So keep that in mind when hiring an attorney. You will want one that is located in pretty much the same district.

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