Legal advice- Can they sue for damages?

bauskern wrote:

She's not going to sue you. And if you've moved across the country, she won't be able to serve you. Move on.

More people should take your advice and move so they can’t be served notice of a lawsuit. Can’t believe this loophole wasn’t discovered earlier.

She is likely bluffing and just venting some frustrations. Let it blow over and if it doesn’t have fun with the situation. Let her know you had to stay at a friend’s house because of the pictures you saw her husband looking at on the internet. You tried to forget it and move on, but now that you are reminded of the situation you think the only solution is to report it. Just say hopefully it is nothing and your husband doesn’t mind his search history being turned over.

In cases of less than say, $10k, the thing to remember is that possession is 9/10th of the law. She is in possession of a few days of rent and a security deposit from you. Aside from asking for it back, there isn't much worth while you can do to get your money back. Same goes for her... even if you completely trashed the room, she'd spend more on a lawyer than she'd collect from you.

The more interesting question is do you still work with her? If so how's that going.

Some pretty good advice here--well done, LRC!

The thing to remember is that pretty much anyone, any time, for any reaason, *can* sue; the question is whether it will be successful.

If you already got your stuff, and you found a place to stay for the few days, and there was no deposit involved, I agree with those who advise to count yourself lucky and let it go. You can "justify" (to yourself) the money you lost as your payment for her cleaning up your mess.

If there's a significant (for you) security deposit lost, you could consider small claims court. But without a written lease, receipts/cancelled checks--in other words, if all you've got is he said/she said--you're probably out of luck. By the same token, if she's looking to actually make a profit by suing you, good luck to her: I can't imagine any useful lawyer would work for what sounds like a relatively small sum.

I haven't lived in Washington for many years and don't know landlord/tenant law there. But I can say that here in NY (and in particular in NYC), there is a strong presumption in favor of keeping people housed. If she'd changed the locks on you here, not only would you be likely to recover some $$$, but she could well go to jail.

present, esq. wrote:

I haven't lived in Washington for many years and don't know landlord/tenant law there. But I can say that here in NY (and in particular in NYC), there is a strong presumption in favor of keeping people housed. If she'd changed the locks on you here, not only would you be likely to recover some $$$, but she could well go to jail.

Exactly. He needs to countersue and get her thrown in the clink. Hire a good prosecutor and have her locked up for tenant abuse and turgid malfeasance. This is disgraceful.

Wash. code Sec. 4.12.010 states that any action would be in the county where the incident occurred. If you have already moved, it is highly unlikely she would have personal jurisdiction to haul you into court. Like most states, month-to-month tenancies in Washington require a 30 day notice for termination. Was it a half month's rent that you lost? Probably a reasonable trade-off for the messy or "damaged" bathroom and constructive eviction lock-out.

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