Hello,

Thank you for using JA. As you probably already realize, without anything in writing, this will be an uphill battle for you and an uncertain outcome at best. She can easily maintain the story that you simply never paid the bill and abandoned the boat. She could then have considered the boat abandoned and disposed of it. However, if she did so, any amount she received would be put towards any outstanding storage bill that you owed.
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There is a 6 year statute of limitations on a written contract in GA, so she could still sue you for breach of contract if she wanted to. It would then be up to you to defend by trying to prove that you had an agreement (which she will deny). It would support your case that you never got a bill after that as that would indicate that she had accepted your offer. But you can still request that she provide proof of what she did with the boat to offset any potential damages you may be liable for. The problem will be if she simply gave the boat to someone or still has it. Then she wouldn't have anything to offset any amount that she claims you owe.
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It is also possible that the business changed hands and the new owner was unaware of the agreement.
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But if they didn't file suit within 6 years from the time payment stopped, then they would be barred from doing so. So essentially they have another year to file suit before they would be barred forever from doing so.
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So at this point, your options would be to either pay the bill and reclaim the boat (assuming they still have it), ignore them and see if they sue, or contact them and try to negotiate some type of settlement.
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Thanks.

Barrister

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Please keep in mind that I am trying to help you understand and resolve your situation. I don't make the laws, I am just reporting or interpreting them, so the outcome may not be what you had hoped for.

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Please be patient as I am typically working with several customers at any given time. Some answers take 5 minutes, some 35 minutes. But rest assured, I will get back to you.

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