Small Claims Across State Lines (GA/TN)

Location: GA/TN

Greetings!

I ran a small business in GA which, until recently, represented a TN-based client’s merchandise portfolio in my state’s market. We signed a contract which detailed pay structure, responsibilities, etc. The market for this product in this state is in the process of falling off a cliff, yet I persisted in introducing (and reintroducing) the client’s products into old and new markets alike, and results were happening. I tried multiple times to inform the client of the state of the market, the work I was doing, building relationships with new distributors, maintaining relationships with old distributors, really out there doing everything I could to help this client’s products grow while keeping prices reasonable yet profitable. I made several suggestions to this end, most of which were shot down.

The client, in June, informed me that he still wanted me to do market work for him, but he was no longer going to pay me the retainer that HE detailed in the contract that HE wrote up and signed, but had unilaterally decided on a different structure. He cited sales numbers that were in-no-way the complete story, and complained that results weren’t happening fast enough – this is in spite of his having said at the beginning of this relationship (back in May ’24) that he was aware that it might take 18 months or more for us to see the desired results.

This seems like a breach of contract to me. I served my written notice and billed him for the remaining time. He has not paid up. There’s lots more to this story, but that would involve getting more specific into the nature of this situation with which I am comfortable. The total owed is less than $5000, but it’s still very much needed here. Is this worth going to court over? How do I file small claims across state lines? Any advice much appreciated.

Sorry for the long post. Cheers.