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Air duct cleaning company illegally searches my closet and takes pictures...

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Robert_W

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Maryland

My landlord calls in a Air duct company to do cleaning on the property I'm renting. Upon entry I informed the cleaning crew what to clean,where to go and left to go back to work. Well the cleaning company took it a step further.

In the master bedrooms closet,I have a plywood wall built into the closet. Times were hard and I was thinking about cultivating Marijuana. Well I got my ASE certification and ditched the whole project all together, but left the Charcoal filter and fan installed, to use as a smoke closet, so the odor wouldn't travel through the townhouse. The cleaning company left,did a awesome job and nothing was touched, or missing. Yeah right....Fast Forward two months.

The cleaning company opens the closest and unlocks the wall I had built,takes pictures *No cultivation was found*, sends these pictures illegally obtained to the landlord and then called the police. This chain of events lead to a investigation and now I'm digging myself out of a pile of ****.

I have a audio recording of the cleaning guy, admitting to opening the closet illegally and taking the pictures. Now I was using the landlords fathers voice and the cleaning guy was unaware that he was being recorded. This I know falls under the "Dual party Consent" law aka Linda Tripp Law. So I know it cant be used to blackmail or etc.

Questions,

-Does the Cleaning company have the right to do this

-What type of Attorney do I need

-Would the recording hold up in a court of law,even though it was illegally obtained

-Can the lawyer pick through the recording

-Can the landlord be held accountable for anything.
 


Silverplum

Senior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Maryland

My landlord calls in a Air duct company to do cleaning on the property I'm renting. Upon entry I informed the cleaning crew what to clean,where to go and left to go back to work. Well the cleaning company took it a step further.

In the master bedrooms closet,I have a plywood wall built into the closet. Times were hard and I was thinking about cultivating Marijuana. Well I got my ASE certification and ditched the whole project all together, but left the Charcoal filter and fan installed, to use as a smoke closet, so the odor wouldn't travel through the townhouse. The cleaning company left,did a awesome job and nothing was touched, or missing. Yeah right....Fast Forward two months.

The cleaning company opens the closest and unlocks the wall I had built,takes pictures *No cultivation was found*, sends these pictures illegally obtained to the landlord and then called the police. This chain of events lead to a investigation and now I'm digging myself out of a pile of ****.

I have a audio recording of the cleaning guy, admitting to opening the closet illegally and taking the pictures. Now I was using the landlords fathers voice and the cleaning guy was unaware that he was being recorded. This I know falls under the "Dual party Consent" law aka Linda Tripp Law. So I know it cant be used to blackmail or etc.

Questions,

-Does the Cleaning company have the right to do this

-What type of Attorney do I need

-Would the recording hold up in a court of law,even though it was illegally obtained

-Can the lawyer pick through the recording

-Can the landlord be held accountable for anything.
You like to control things, even those which are not yours to control. Like your landlord, the cleaners your landlord hired, and the police.
 

Just Blue

Senior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Maryland

My landlord calls in a Air duct company to do cleaning on the property I'm renting. Upon entry I informed the cleaning crew what to clean,where to go and left to go back to work. Well the cleaning company took it a step further.

In the master bedrooms closet,I have a plywood wall built into the closet. Times were hard and I was thinking about cultivating Marijuana. Well I got my ASE certification and ditched the whole project all together, but left the Charcoal filter and fan installed, to use as a smoke closet, so the odor wouldn't travel through the townhouse. The cleaning company left,did a awesome job and nothing was touched, or missing. Yeah right....Fast Forward two months.

The cleaning company opens the closest and unlocks the wall I had built,takes pictures *No cultivation was found*, sends these pictures illegally obtained to the landlord and then called the police. This chain of events lead to a investigation and now I'm digging myself out of a pile of ****.

I have a audio recording of the cleaning guy, admitting to opening the closet illegally and taking the pictures. Now I was using the landlords fathers voice and the cleaning guy was unaware that he was being recorded. This I know falls under the "Dual party Consent" law aka Linda Tripp Law. So I know it cant be used to blackmail or etc.

Questions,

-Does the Cleaning company have the right to do this

-What type of Attorney do I need

-Would the recording hold up in a court of law,even though it was illegally obtained

-Can the lawyer pick through the recording

-Can the landlord be held accountable for anything.
-Likely
-Criminal
-Perhaps. Ask the^ attorney
-Again ask the Criminal Attorney
-Doubtful
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
It doesn't even seem to me that opening the closet door was illegal...that's simply a conclusion reached by the you.

As to the question of what kind of attorney to hire...it sounds to me like you need a criminal defense attorney.
 

Silverplum

Senior Member
huh?? I'm lost
Really?

It was not your choice or "right" to direct the air duct cleaners. They were not hired by you and it's not your house to maintain. It's not "illegal" of the cleaners to clean. It's not wrong or illegal for them to report criminal activity.

It's ridiculous of you to call and record yourself pretending to be someone else, in order to "catch a criminal." That's just another of your illegal actions.

The police are going to pursue your case whether you like it or not.
 
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Maryland

My landlord calls in a Air duct company to do cleaning on the property I'm renting. Upon entry I informed the cleaning crew what to clean,where to go and left to go back to work. Well the cleaning company took it a step further.

In the master bedrooms closet,I have a plywood wall built into the closet. Times were hard and I was thinking about cultivating Marijuana. Well I got my ASE certification and ditched the whole project all together, but left the Charcoal filter and fan installed, to use as a smoke closet, so the odor wouldn't travel through the townhouse. The cleaning company left,did a awesome job and nothing was touched, or missing. Yeah right....Fast Forward two months.

The cleaning company opens the closest and unlocks the wall I had built,takes pictures *No cultivation was found*, sends these pictures illegally obtained to the landlord and then called the police. This chain of events lead to a investigation and now I'm digging myself out of a pile of ****.

I have a audio recording of the cleaning guy, admitting to opening the closet illegally and taking the pictures. Now I was using the landlords fathers voice and the cleaning guy was unaware that he was being recorded. This I know falls under the "Dual party Consent" law aka Linda Tripp Law. So I know it cant be used to blackmail or etc..[/QUOTE

-Does the Cleaning company have the right to do this.
Yes

-What type of Attorney do I need.
If a criminal complaint is filed against you, then you need a criminal defense attorney. If a civil complaint is filed against you, then you need an attorney familiar with whatever civil laws you allegedly violated.

-Would the recording hold up in a court of law, even though it was illegally obtained.
No. Not only that, in some states recording without consent is a criminal offense and/or a civil offense and it doesn't matter what you intended to do with the recording or what you did with it. In other words, in some states, if the cleaning person that you spoke with knew that you recorded him without consent, then he could file a civil law suit against you and win money damages.

-Can the lawyer pick through the recording.
No, your lawyer cannot "pick through" the recording and play only the parts that he likes. He has to reveal the whole recoding to the other party's attorney.

-Can the landlord be held accountable for anything.
No. The landlord didn't do anything wrong.
 

Robert_W

Junior Member
It doesn't even seem to me that opening the closet door was illegal...that's simply a conclusion reached by the you.

As to the question of what kind of attorney to hire...it sounds to me like you need a criminal defense attorney.
The closet door was lock and also the door inside the closet was locked and secured.

Also, the cleaning company asked me what needed to be clean. I pointed to the vents and they went to work.

When I finally got in touch with the owner of the cleaning company and told him the situation, he even admitted his worker was wrong for what he did and that I should take the situation up with an attorney.
 
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Silverplum

Senior Member
The tape recording is illegal in MD: that state requires the consent of ALL parties to tape.

Anyone can find this on Google. :cool:
 

Silverplum

Senior Member
The closet door was lock and also the door inside the closet was locked and secured.

Also, the cleaning company asked me what needed to be clean. I pointed to the vents and they went to work.
So...now the cleaners broke two locks on two doors?
 

Silverplum

Senior Member
The closet door was lock and also the door inside the closet was locked and secured.

Also, the cleaning company asked me what needed to be clean. I pointed to the vents and they went to work.

When I finally got in touch with the owner of the cleaning company and told him the situation, he even admitted his worker was wrong for what he did and that I should take the situation up with an attorney.
Yes. Take the situation up with an attorney.
 

Robert_W

Junior Member
The tape recording is illegal in MD: that state requires the consent of ALL parties to tape.

Anyone can find this on Google. :cool:
I did Google,

"I know falls under the "Dual party Consent" law aka Linda Tripp Law. So I know it cant be used to blackmail or etc."
 

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