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I posted earlier concerning damage to a rental house. I got several very
helpful replies, which all suggested small claims court. I filed earlier this
week. In the lower-level court, which caps the award at $1500, because 1) The
filing fee was cheaper 2) I figured the filing fee was throwing good money
after bad anyway, since the prospects of actually collecting a judgment were
slim. The guy owns no property in his name, has no bank account, and works for
his father. I did it more out of principal than anything else.
The tenant was apparently served with the papers yesterday. He has called
repeatedly in a harassing fashion for two days. The first time he called he
made specific threats, i.e. "I'm going to come up there and "f" you up." I
quit answering the phone, he calls about 10 times a day and leaves
frothing-lunatic messages on the recorder. I unplugged the recorder. Then the
phone just rang and rang. I finally unplugged the phone.
I am learning fast how crazy this guy probably is. Now I am having second
thoughts about small claims. But I just believe that, even though we might not
collect, complacency is still wrong. He'll go down the road and keep gigging
other landlords and won't ever be held responsible if someone doesn't stand up.
I called the county Sheriff and logged the phone calls. I'm not sure what else
to do. I don't want this thing to escalate to the point I have to hire an
attorney, or file a restraining order, or anything like that. But I don't want
to be bullied into dropping the case, either. I'm not sure what my options at
this point are. Any advice, legal or otherwise, is appreciated. I am not a
professional landlord. This is a house that was a former home, I rented it
twice, and after this experience am selling it. I did, however, try to educate
myself on the landlord-tenant laws and feel secure that I've done everything in
accordance with law so far. I also tried to respect the tenants' privacy and
never once entered the house to check on it. That was my biggest mistake.
To email me, please unmunge my address by taking "kitty"out of it.
Thank you
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The tenant was apparently served with the papers yesterday. He has called
repeatedly in a harassing fashion for two days. The first time he called he
made specific threats, i.e. "I'm going to come up there and "f" you up." I
quit answering the phone, he calls about 10 times a day and leaves
frothing-lunatic messages on the recorder. I unplugged the recorder. Then the
phone just rang and rang. I finally unplugged the phone.
I know how hard it is to let someone "win" in this type of a
situation, but your physical safety is more important than enforcing a
principle against some loser. Remember that this guy is just a
deadbeat schmuck. Your "making a point" in your dispute with him is
not going to decide a presidential election or set a precedent for
landlords all over America. To me, it does not sound like any legal
action against this guy is worth it. You will not be able to recover
any money from him, yet you will be escalating the dispute further
against someone who seems to be off his rocker.
My suggestion: drop the lawsuit, cut your losses, and cut off all
further communication with the guy. I would also suggest you let him
know you're dropping the lawsuit if he leaves you alone, and if he
continues to harass you after that, call the police and also file a
restraining order against him.
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In the lower-level court, which caps the award at $1500, because 1) The
filing fee was cheaper 2) I figured the filing fee was throwing good
money
after bad anyway, since the prospects of actually collecting a judgment
were
slim. The guy owns no property in his name, has no bank account, and works
for
his father.
According to a multi-unit owner I used to work for, on average you can
expect to collect 4% of what you sue a tenant for.
I
quit answering the phone, he calls about 10 times a day and leaves
frothing-lunatic messages on the recorder.
Oh, goody! He's given you evidence to not only support your existing case,
but evidence to justify an additional case against him for harassment. He's
also given you evidence for a restraining order, which will be nice when you
sue him for harassment.
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Sherry wrote:
Being harrassed by tenant after filing in court against him]
..
I called the county Sheriff and logged the phone calls. I'm not sure what else
to do. I don't want this thing to escalate to the point I have to hire an
attorney, or file a restraining order, or anything like that. But I don't want
to be bullied into dropping the case, either. I'm not sure what my options at
this point are. Any advice, legal or otherwise, is appreciated. I am not a
professional landlord. This is a house that was a former home, I rented it
twice, and after this experience am selling it. I did, however, try to educate
myself on the landlord-tenant laws and feel secure that I've done everything in
accordance with law so far. I also tried to respect the tenants' privacy and
never once entered the house to check on it. That was my biggest mistake.
To email me, please unmunge my address by taking "kitty"out of it.
Thank you
You are under a misaprehension foisted on the public by the police,
courts and many TV shows that the law can or will protect you. The law
and police agencies will, at best, investigate an incident after it
occurs, but will not save you from that incident. What the law does is
make it illegal to do certain acts. It does not make them impossible or
even difficult.
Here you've notified the sheriff so if you come to a bad end, most
likely your tenant will suffer an investigation, but there is nothing in
that or for that matter the often touted 'order of protection /
retraining order' which will prevent such an act.
You are responsible for your own defense. In that you can choose to
increase your defense posture by taking measures from arming yourself to
armorning your abode to backing off in hopes that the tenant will calm
down.
I'd say there is nothing at all wrong headed about getting that
restraining order. If he violates it, it's contempt which can land him
in jail making your subsequent case against him easier. It may sober him
up and therefore remove him from your threat horizon, but it also may
stir him up to an even greater threat.
The law may provide your heirs remedy, but it won't offer you a shield
against aggression.
-paul
ianal
--
paul DOT cassel aT
gMail dot COM
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I posted earlier concerning damage to a rental house. I got several very
helpful replies, which all suggested small claims court. I filed earlier this
week. In the lower-level court, which caps the award at $1500, because 1) The
filing fee was cheaper 2) I figured the filing fee was throwing good money
after bad anyway, since the prospects of actually collecting a judgment were
slim. The guy owns no property in his name, has no bank account, and works for
his father. I did it more out of principal than anything else.
The tenant was apparently served with the papers yesterday. He has called
repeatedly in a harassing fashion for two days. The first time he called he
made specific threats, i.e. "I'm going to come up there and "f" you up." I
quit answering the phone, he calls about 10 times a day and leaves
frothing-lunatic messages on the recorder. I unplugged the recorder. Then the
phone just rang and rang. I finally unplugged the phone.
I am learning fast how crazy this guy probably is. Now I am having second
thoughts about small claims. But I just believe that, even though we might not
collect, complacency is still wrong. He'll go down the road and keep gigging
other landlords and won't ever be held responsible if someone doesn't stand up.
I called the county Sheriff and logged the phone calls. I'm not sure what else
to do.
Well, the fact that he left angry messages on your machine is actually
a good thing, because now you have recorded evidence of his
harassment. There is little the sheriff's office will do about it,
however, until he specifically threatens your life. That is something
he would most likely be arrested for. So I would plug the machine
back in and wait for him to a leave a life-threatening message, then
save the tape for the sheriff's office. Of course, that would in turn
mean you testifying against him in a criminal trial (possibly if he
doesn't plead guilty and/or cut a deal with the prosecutor). But if
the possibility of him being locked up where he can't do anything to
you is what you want, I would continue to record the calls.
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