after my ex-boyfriend and i had been living together for a couple of years, we moved out of the house we had shared with roommates and into a house for just the two of us. i imagine it was something of a trial run for permanence. we managed the household fairly well, equitably, and maturely, which should have surprised no one, but we always kept our finances separate. at the lease signing, we brought separate credit reports, signed the lease separately, and he maintained his own office in the second bedroom, i.e., none of my stuff was in there. we shared the master bedroom and the rest of the space.
our relationship ended without malice, and we continued cohabitating until the end of our lease (because we're big kids and we can be respectful and courteous of each other). he moved out about a week before I did, and we scheduled a walk-through with the landlady. because of some issues that had arisen with regard to the contract, we video-taped the walk-through. she agreed to buy from us the refrigerator we had purchased and had installed, and stated specifically that if the house were in the same condition as it currently was when we turned it over, we'd both get our full security deposits back. yay! (i know some folks don't find it worthwhile to scour the oven and the blinds and the bathtub in a rental property, but i don't have the luxury of affording the deduction.)
fast-forward through the emotional process of seeing off the ex, shipping him all his crapola that he couldn't fit in his crate/didn't have time to deal with, finding my own apartment, moving out, cleaning up, and the landlady doesn't show up for the final walk-through. bitch has three phone numbers and isn't answering any of them, even though we had already agreed upon the date. i shot more video to document that the house was empty and spotless, and left. she never scheduled a walk-through with me.
she refused to refund my security deposit. she paid my ex in full, but they had always been on good terms. my theory is that she started disliking me when i refused to pay for repairs to the sewer line, into which roots had grown. i refused to pay for it because a) it's not my fault as a renter (there was nothing i could have done to anticipate or prevent it), and b) the lease we all signed specifically stated the tenants were not responsible for any damage to the pipes caused by tree roots. and also? she claims to be an attorney.
i say "claims to be an attorney" because i researched the law, and it was eminently clear to me that she had no legal claim to the deposit. i dotted all my i's, crossed my t's, and filed a lawsuit...against my former landlady, the attorney. there were a number of legal hoops to jump through, and i spent hours of my personal time reviewing the evidence of my case (in small claims court, you're not allowed to hire an attorney to represent you...which can be intimidating when the party you're suing IS an attorney). i transcribed the dialogue of the entire walk-through from the video-tape...which is a very time-consuming and frustrating evening activity. i had to take time off work for the court date, and showed up hella early at the county courthouse, in a suit (at work i'm in jeans, at home i'm in pajamas). i stated my case in front of the judge, and tried my best not to stammer, even though i was shaking in my little space booties -- no, worse, i was shaking in my high heels, which is even more dangerous. who sues an attorney, anyway?!
she claims to be an attorney, did i mention that? i have never, in all my sick days of watching pathetic losers on The People's Court, witnessed someone testify so idiotically on his/her own behalf. (by the way, the Judge Joe Brown, Judge Mathis, and Judge Judy shows all contacted me and offered to take my case on national television. i still have the letters! but i decided that i didn't want my fifteen minutes of fame to typecast me as white trash, so i declined.) she tried to countersue me for damage to the office carpet, which a) i had never inhabited, and b) was exposed durign the walk-through on camera. she also claimed not to know that my ex and i were co-tenants, even though we gave her separate credit reports, separate leases, and paid every month with two separate checks.
i was pretty sure i had it in the bag (the decision was to be mailed, not announced in court). i was so elated by my non-attorney spokesperson success in suing an attorney, i drove to the house we used to rent and knocked on the door. i told the current occupant that i'd just gotten out of court with her landlady, and that she'd do well to document her experience as a renter: some of my best evidence was emails we had exchanged. according to the new resident, the landlady claimed she'd never rented the house before. hmm...that's what she claimed when she rented it to us! i left her my contact information and told her i'd be happy to provide any help within my power.
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