I'm worried about the future

[alice202]

I am being sued by my previous landlord. I only got part of the paperwork today so I still don't know why he is suing me or for how much. If its a worst case scenario this could affect me for the next few years.

I thought I had just gotten clear from years of financial struggle, and now this. I do plan to fight him with every argument I can think of, but I think a lot of this is going to be my word vs his. I have been sued before, and I never fought it. Since I left the apartment almost 4 months ago and he didn't evict me this feels unexpected and kind of bizarre.

I have never been in a financially secure situation my whole life and just when I had some hope of finally getting there, this happens.

My head hurts. I'm just venting. I know worrying doesn't accomplish anything, but its hard not to. I wish I could escape my life.

 

[Rebreb]

Ah it's for sure frustrating and I'm sorry you're struggling with this still. Try not to imagine the worst case scenario. He may be willing to make a deal with you outside of court. You also don't know what may be settled in court. I remember you saying that he had been delinquent in taking care of the place. I hope this clears up without too much trouble and that you can enjoy financial freedom soon.

 

[alice202]

Thanks rebreb. You're right, I don't know how this will turn out. Yesterday was the first time I actually got something in the mail about it and its just a court date in 10 days. The first court date went by, and I guess he asked for another one. I am supposed to get a document from the court via certified mail, which should be forwarded. But I have a feeling it has bounced back, since its been over 2 weeks. I was really hoping he would just give up on trying to find me.

It feels like my mood just shifted down a whole gear into depression.

 

[Rebreb]

I don't know how it is there, but here, if they don't find you and you don't show up in court, a judgment is placed against you. So hiding out doesn't work here. I was out of province when this happened to me.
I don't know what the arrival failure of the certified document might mean though, if it is in your favour.. I'm not sure.
You may want to investigate through the court to know what you're up against before the court date. Or at least find out more about how the system works. It may ease some worry and also give you some feeling of empowerment instead of powerlessness.

 

[alice202]

There was a court date in August that came and went without my receiving any notification. Apparently the landlord then asked for a new date at the beginning of September and then waited 2 weeks to send it to me... and the court date is at the end of September. So even if I got the suit tomorrow, I wouldn't have much time to confer with a lawyer and write a counter statement in time for the court date, which is 9 days away.

I've been reading the statutes so I have a pretty good idea of how this works. They court has to send you a summons at your last known address, generally by certified mail. Certified mail is supposed to be forwarded to your new address, but I'm guessing that doesn't always work. Whether I receive a the suit or not I'm going to call the court on Tuesday and tell them I can't be ready for this without adequate notice. And I'll give them my new address so they can send it to me. That will produce another court date but it will give me a month to get my defense and counter-suit ready.

I have a general idea what I'm going to do but I really want to get this right. I think he played a game by delaying the mailing, so I'm going to play my cards too.

If they can prove that I received the lawsuit and didn't respond, I lose by default. If the letter is returned they should be able to get my address from the post office but I can't be sure of that. The next step is that they publish a notice in the newspaper. This seems pretty archaic, since very few people read paper newspapers any more, but the law is on the books. If I really had moved out of state and had not left a forwarding address this could happen.

I think what I dread most is seeing him in court, and his anger towards me. He's an angry man, which contributed to the demise of our communication. I really have an aversion to angry men.

 

[alice202]

So today I called the court to tell them I had not received the complaint. They told me that I had already been served a summons (4 attempts) and that there had been a notice published in the newspaper. He had the summons served at my old address.

So I went downtown and asked to see the complaint. I went in a little room and looked at all the documents filed- and the complaint was only one sentence... she owes me $XXXX. No documents, no statement, no explanation, nothing. He was pretty lazy about it. I found out that my response has to be in by Friday at 9am. I don't have to go to court, just submit a response. I'm pretty sure he was hoping I would just ignore it or be unreachable, and that he would win by default.

I feel ok about this because I have been getting ready to write this for a while and now I am essentially responding to nothing. It puts me under a little pressure, but I'm sort of glad I don't have more time to work on it. If I did I would spend all my time working on it for weeks, and have more anxiety. I'm writing tonight and tomorrow night and will bring it to the court on Monday. I've been brainstorming about all the neglect on the apartment over the last 17 years so there's a lot to say. I can't believe I put up with this shit for so long.

 

[Rebreb]

I'm so glad you found out in time. It's much more in your favour this way. Don't let the angry man win. Good luck!!!

 

[JmpMster]

Just have to reply that you have no knowledge of any amounts owed and request that it be dismissed as there is no itemization of amounts, reasons, or dates and no evidence of expenses submitted by him with the lawsuit that you could be responsible for, making it impossible to provide evidence or even gather evidence to bring of payment to satisfy the court. That going to the extreme of a lawsuit without any previous attempts or even evidence / details of money owed should make it clear to have no real grounds and is a vindictive suit asking it to be dismissed.

That said - if you are aware of past rent leave the "none" off and just say without dates. Do not lie about anything at all, but is fine to ignore points if you choose to. Being hard to find or even giving the appearance of hard to find/hiding/ or not responsive is the worse thing you can do as it would all support the claim of running out on a debt. If you can include anything that shows he should have been able to find you (like he knows place of employment etc) it would show he had failed to exercise diligence in the summons process. How did you find out about in the end? It did eventually get forwarded?

 

[alice202]

Thank you NYJmpMaster. I just revised my first paragraph after reading your post.

I found out about the suit because of lawyers that apparently search for cases on the court case listing and send advertising to potential clients. It was 2 months later (just last Monday) that I actually got a court statement from the landlord because he mailed it to me and it was forwarded. But there was still no 'complaint'. I really don't think he wanted to find me because if he had sent a summons via certified mail it would have been forwarded and I would have gotten it.

When I went downtown to look up the case summons I expected to see a document, not a single sentence. The only way he would win this is by default, if I didn't show up. I had my 7 page response finished today - just revised it to point out the lack of documentation. The length of it is pointing out his gross negligence as a landlord, and asking for rent abatement. I doubt I'll get anything because its my word against his, but that puts us on the same footing.

I'll be so happy when this is over.

 

[JmpMster]

Hoping all turns out well for you and you do not have to deal with this for a protracted amount of time. Too many more important things to do in life than to have to waste time and energy to deal with stupid people. Hoping for the best possible outcome for you Alice.

 

[alice202]

The latest thing is that there is a date for a court hearing a month from now. I guess that makes sense. I mailed him my statement today. It would be great if we could settle this out of court but I am loathe to initiate contact with him. I am going to gather all the documented proof of payment I can, even though I am responding to something very vague.

I don't want to let this drag me down for the next month. I want to be strong. Life always has challenges, and this is mine for now. I feel good about my statement, which puts him on the defensive for being such a sloppy landlord. I just need to keep a positive attitude and be ready to fight this.

 

[DrownedFishOnFire]

@alice202 wishing you the best outcome in this. Good Luck

 

[alice202]

Well this is unrelated but its whats bothering me most. My teeth are going bad and today one broke off. There was a period of more than 10 years when I couldn't afford much in the way of dental care, so I had one tooth pulled after another. The remaining teeth are badly decayed to the point of breaking. I have a bridge for one of the front teeth, but today the one next to it just broke off. I am down to 13 functioning teeth, and its getting harder and harder to even eat.

I had made a plan over 2 years ago to get them all extracted and get dentures or implants. Had the dentist and oral surgeon all lined up. Then I was laid off from my job so that threw a wrench into everything and I had to postpone it. To get what I need will cost thousands of dollars and I will have to take out a loan. If there is a landlord judgment against me that will be next to impossible. Dental insurance is basically useless because it covers so little.

It is at the point where the missing teeth are noticeable. Not if someone just talks to me, but now and then I notice someone at work looking at my mouth and I know they can tell. After the tooth that broke today, its going to be even more obvious that I have bad teeth. There is a stigma against people with missing teeth. There shouldn't be, but there is.

So its a health issue, a financial issue, and a social issue. I don't want people to notice, so it keeps me from smiling. I don't want more teeth to break, so it keeps me from eating. Its just really depressing.

 

[BarryW]

Alice I hope the settlement goes in your favor or is 'thrown out' so you don't have further financial troubles. It's unfortunate some of your coworkers are giving you looks that make you feel uncomfortable. The good news is you are working so should be able to afford the dental work eventually? Or is the pay too low for that?

 

[alice202]

Thank you BarryW. I hope that it either gets thrown out by the judge or that the landlord decides to settle with me out of court by withdrawing the complaint. If I do not end up getting sued that will make it a lot easier for me to afford the dental work, but I still need to put it off for a few months. If he sues me, then I will have to put it off for a long time, and I just can't. My teeth are so bad I am afraid to eat anything except soft food right now.

 

[BarryW]

View attachment 4114 View attachment 4115 View attachment 4116 View attachment 4117

Soft foods banquet !! for you.

 

[alice202]

 

[alice202]

So tomorrow is the court date. I have tried not to worry about it since worrying accomplishes nothing. I am determined to show up and calmly answer the judge's questions. That is all that is within my control. I don't know what is going to happen and I am terrible at predicting these things. Its occurred to me that this could get dragged out and that it might not be over tomorrow. But I really hope it is. I am not looking forward to going to court, and I really don't want to see my landlord, but I have to. Its like dredging up the past. I hope it doesn't work out badly for my future.

 

[BarryW]

Keep a positive spirit and it is bound to affect the outcome in some way.. whether that means a verdict in your favor or a hand reaching out to help you if not. Wishing you courage for your court date!!

 

[alice202]

Thank you BarryW

Things turned out well. I was very nervous and I didn't look at my landlord the whole time. I decided ahead of time to stay calm and only respond when the judge asked me a question. It was just me, the landlord and the judge.

The judge started out by throwing out the landlord's response to my statement, because the landlord didn't mail me a copy. He said 'we don't do trial by ambush' in this country. He also agreed with me that there were no specifics and no documentation so how could I respond to it. He asked the landlord to name a month where I didn't pay the rent, and the landlord sat there shuffling a stack of papers. Apparently he didn't think he had to prove anything - just make a few broad sweeping statements against me and things would go his way.

In the end the judge awarded nothing to either of us because there was no proof. I couldn't bring proof because I didn't know what I was being accused of. The landlord evidently didn't think he had to prove anything, just assert it. The judge scolded him for not keeping proper records and documentation and told him there were plenty of good books in the library on how to be a landlord. He asked him if he notified me within 30 days of moving out what the status of my security deposit was, and he said no. For that he could have automatically fined him 2 months rent because he had broken the law.

At the end he said either of us could request a circuit court hearing within 10 days. I have no plans to do that, and I hope my landlord doesn't. I think the same argument about the lack of documentation/evidence would apply. Usually you have a lawyer, and that costs money. Even if you win, the lawyer takes some of your money. And the stakes here aren't that big. So it seems like a stupid idea.

The landlord was angry and irritable, and the judge was firm with him about speaking out of turn. I just hope he doesn't do something vindictive to me because he is angry. He doesn't really seem like the type, but you never know.

So I won't feel like its over till 10 days go by and there is no lawsuit filed against me. Today went as well for me as I could possibly hope for and I am SO GLAD its over. I just want to move on with my life.