Koko78 Posted June 27, 2017 Share Posted June 27, 2017 So, as of last march, I moved out of an apartment. On the last day of the lease, landlady and her realtor came and did a walkthrough with me and she gave me the entirety of my security deposit back. A month later, she calls me asking for money for damage they found to the apartment later. I refused, saying the lease was done and she completed the walkthrough. Now, she is taking me to small claims court for the TOTAL amount of my security deposit and her legal fees. Has she got a leg to stand on? Anyone here a RE lawyer? Well, you don't really want a real estate lawyer as much as an attorney who handles civil litigation. Pushing paper and doing closings is not the same thing as courtroom practice (and I find that many real estate attorneys tend to be morons - I actually had one try to quote the 13th Amendment to me once in a real estate deal, it was sad.) In order to win, she would have to prove that the damage was caused by you before you left, and she would have to prove an actual amount of damages. I do not believe that she would be entitled to attorneys fees or anything over the amount of money necessary to repair the damage that she cannot prove you caused - it's small claims court. Her biggest problem, as many have pointed out, is that she and her realtor walked through the apartment and she returned all of the security deposit money. She clearly found nothing wrong at the time, and waived her right to take part of the security deposit to fix the alleged damage. A month is pretty attenuated from when you occupied the apartment to claim that you somehow caused the supposed damage. Were I you, I would reach out to the realtor to see if she saw any of this supposed damage, and maybe even subpoena her to testify at any trial. I really do not see where she is going with this, other than wasting everyone's time. No way she settles for $300. Her filing fee had to be $150 or more. Not sure what state he is in, but in Illinois small claims you can't bring a lawyer, unless it's a corporation. If it's NY, filing fees in small claims court is like $10... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BringBackFergy Posted June 27, 2017 Share Posted June 27, 2017 Well, you don't really want a real estate lawyer as much as an attorney who handles civil litigation. Pushing paper and doing closings is not the same thing as courtroom practice (and I find that many real estate attorneys tend to be morons - I actually had one try to quote the 13th Amendment to me once in a real estate deal, it was sad.) In order to win, she would have to prove that the damage was caused by you before you left, and she would have to prove an actual amount of damages. I do not believe that she would be entitled to attorneys fees or anything over the amount of money necessary to repair the damage that she cannot prove you caused - it's small claims court. Her biggest problem, as many have pointed out, is that she and her realtor walked through the apartment and she returned all of the security deposit money. She clearly found nothing wrong at the time, and waived her right to take part of the security deposit to fix the alleged damage. A month is pretty attenuated from when you occupied the apartment to claim that you somehow caused the supposed damage. Were I you, I would reach out to the realtor to see if she saw any of this supposed damage, and maybe even subpoena her to testify at any trial. I really do not see where she is going with this, other than wasting everyone's time. If it's NY, filing fees in small claims court is like $10... Yeah, guys who practice real estate law are a bunch of morons...all they do is review contracts relating to interests in real estate and apply legal principles to a set of facts. After all, what's the sense of actually reading the contract or lease when you can just argue "probabilities" without ever reviewing the plain language in the document signed by all parties? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koko78 Posted June 27, 2017 Share Posted June 27, 2017 Yeah, guys who practice real estate law are a bunch of morons...all they do is review contracts relating to interests in real estate and apply legal principles to a set of facts. After all, what's the sense of actually reading the contract or lease when you can just argue "probabilities" without ever reviewing the plain language in the document signed by all parties? Yeah, reviewing contracts is not terribly difficult work, especially when 99% of it is form language. Nice try, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pine Barrens Mafia Posted June 27, 2017 Author Share Posted June 27, 2017 Lawyer cage match! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BringBackFergy Posted June 27, 2017 Share Posted June 27, 2017 Yeah, reviewing contracts is not terribly difficult work, especially when 99% of it is form language. Nice try, though. Kind of like filling in the blanks on CPLR Discovery demands, an Omnibus Motion or any of the other countless motions involved in civil litigation and crim defense. Yeah - those were fun times. Lawyer cage match! Can't believe you broke that air conditioner...poor old widow just wants it fixed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koko78 Posted June 27, 2017 Share Posted June 27, 2017 Kind of like filling in the blanks on CPLR Discovery demands, an Omnibus Motion or any of the other countless motions involved in civil litigation and crim defense. Yeah - those were fun times. Uh, those are mostly forms... If you had to re-invent the wheel every time, that's your problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boyst Posted June 27, 2017 Share Posted June 27, 2017 Kind of like filling in the blanks on CPLR Discovery demands, an Omnibus Motion or any of the other countless motions involved in civil litigation and crim defense. Yeah - those were fun times. Can't believe you broke that air conditioner...poor old widow just wants it fixed. its all silly law til you get to criminal defense execution cases when you have to do Rowe vs the board of education. And brown vs wade and Ginsburg vs naptime. Having to file motion after motion to get a paper clip. Blablanlbla Lawyers are gross. I hate them all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BringBackFergy Posted June 27, 2017 Share Posted June 27, 2017 Uh, those are mostly forms... If you had to re-invent the wheel every time, that's your problem. OK, so real estate, criminal defense and civil litigation attorneys are morons....let me guess...you work for the government? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pine Barrens Mafia Posted June 27, 2017 Author Share Posted June 27, 2017 Kind of like filling in the blanks on CPLR Discovery demands, an Omnibus Motion or any of the other countless motions involved in civil litigation and crim defense. Yeah - those were fun times. Can't believe you broke that air conditioner...poor old widow just wants it fixed. Save the rage for your opponent ferg! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasons1992 Posted June 27, 2017 Share Posted June 27, 2017 Are they hot? I like that this is your go-to line across the board today....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BringBackFergy Posted June 27, 2017 Share Posted June 27, 2017 Save the rage for your opponent ferg! So you admit to breaking it and leaving the air conditioner there for the old, handicapped, war hero, Red Cross volunteer, widow to fix on her own? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koko78 Posted June 27, 2017 Share Posted June 27, 2017 OK, so real estate, criminal defense and civil litigation attorneys are morons....let me guess...you work for the government? Reading comprehension, bro - try it. I said nothing about many real estate attorneys being morons because they use forms. In fact, I believe many are morons because many are actually morons. Not all, not most, but many. Every attorney uses forms, because re-inventing the wheel for each matter is incredibly stupid, wasteful and promotes mistakes. The fact that you tried to attack my statement by mentioning reviewing contracts is funny. Truth is that it's not hard to review contracts, even land contracts, if you have a little bit of a clue, because most of the language is form language. By all means, though, keep hilariously beating that strawman you're inventing. I appreciate the entertainment. its all silly law til you get to criminal defense execution cases when you have to do Rowe vs the board of education. And brown vs wade and Ginsburg vs naptime. Having to file motion after motion to get a paper clip. Blablanlbla Lawyers are gross. I hate them all Don't you have a goat to !@#$, farmboy? So you admit to breaking it and leaving the air conditioner there for the old, handicapped, war hero, Red Cross volunteer, widow to fix on her own? You forgot chuch-going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boyst Posted June 27, 2017 Share Posted June 27, 2017 Reading comprehension, bro - try it. I said nothing about many real estate attorneys being morons because they use forms. In fact, I believe many are morons because many are actually morons. Not all, not most, but many. Every attorney uses forms, because re-inventing the wheel for each matter is incredibly stupid, wasteful and promotes mistakes. The fact that you tried to attack my statement by mentioning reviewing contracts is funny. Truth is that it's not hard to review contracts, even land contracts, if you have a little bit of a clue, because most of the language is form language. By all means, though, keep hilariously beating that strawman you're inventing. I appreciate the entertainment. Don't you have a goat to !@#$, farmboy? You forgot chuch-going. no Why? Ya got one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BringBackFergy Posted June 27, 2017 Share Posted June 27, 2017 Reading comprehension, bro - try it. I said nothing about many real estate attorneys being morons because they use forms. In fact, I believe many are morons because many are actually morons. Not all, not most, but many. Every attorney uses forms, because re-inventing the wheel for each matter is incredibly stupid, wasteful and promotes mistakes. The fact that you tried to attack my statement by mentioning reviewing contracts is funny. Truth is that it's not hard to review contracts, even land contracts, if you have a little bit of a clue, because most of the language is form language. By all means, though, keep hilariously beating that strawman you're inventing. I appreciate the entertainment. 200+ words to backtrack? Teach me more Aristotle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted June 27, 2017 Share Posted June 27, 2017 So you admit to breaking it and leaving the air conditioner there for the old, handicapped, war hero, Red Cross volunteer, widow to fix on her own? She could have turned it on right before the walk through. Normal A/C unit should be blowing around 20 degrees F lower than ambient air. Look... Only $9.99... Even rich real estate tycoon widows of war heros can afford this as they do their final inspection walk-thru. Save a hell of a lot than paying bogus lawyer fees. :-P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Jack Posted June 27, 2017 Share Posted June 27, 2017 Lawyer cage match! Two lawyers enter! None come out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted June 27, 2017 Share Posted June 27, 2017 Two lawyers enter! None come out! Major win win. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pine Barrens Mafia Posted September 7, 2017 Author Share Posted September 7, 2017 Update: court day was today! I sat there, silent while the judge questioned the landlady. He brought the hammer on her. When it was my turn I stated the facts, and was awarded with NO DAMAGES. Glad I didn't settle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Augie Posted September 7, 2017 Share Posted September 7, 2017 Update: court day was today! I sat there, silent while the judge questioned the landlady. He brought the hammer on her. When it was my turn I stated the facts, and was awarded with NO DAMAGES. Glad I didn't settle. Well done! Everything seemed in your favor. It was a DONE deal. There should be some penalty to her for such a nuisance. Maybe she thought you'd settle or be a no show. That should cost her.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gugny Posted September 7, 2017 Share Posted September 7, 2017 Update: court day was today! I sat there, silent while the judge questioned the landlady. He brought the hammer on her. When it was my turn I stated the facts, and was awarded with NO DAMAGES. Glad I didn't settle. I believe you owe Fergy a big "Thank You." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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