• FreeAdvice has a new Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, effective May 25, 2018.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our Terms of Service and use of cookies.

My attacker is suing me

Accident - Bankruptcy - Criminal Law / DUI - Business - Consumer - Employment - Family - Immigration - Real Estate - Tax - Traffic - Wills   Please click a topic or scroll down for more.

Valkyrii

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

In October of 2014 I was assaulted by a friend we were letting stay in a camper on our property. He was arrested and sentenced to 10 years in jail in August of 2015. His stuff, which he didn't have much of, was left here and no one ever contacted me to retrieve it. After he was sentenced, his cousin came and got some and told me to dispose of the rest. Today I received a summons from my attacker's PoA and they are taking me to civil court for his stuff. They included a list and 90% of the stuff on it belongs to my husband! I'm not sure what to do since I can't afford a lawyer and I'm suffering PTSD from what this man did to me, so this is causing some major issues for me emotionally. I feel like it's more harassment. Do they have any chance of winning? What can I do?
 


tranquility

Senior Member
Of course they have a chance of winning. Especially if you don't respond appropriately. If you can't afford a lawyer, you might see if you can find a book at the library to help you on how to handle the situation. At the very least, you have a quick deadline to answer the complaint.

Get your evidence together about what was told you and how to prove the items were your husband's.
 

Valkyrii

Junior Member
Of course they have a chance of winning. Especially if you don't respond appropriately. If you can't afford a lawyer, you might see if you can find a book at the library to help you on how to handle the situation. At the very least, you have a quick deadline to answer the complaint.

Get your evidence together about what was told you and how to prove the items were your husband's.

I'm unsure how to prove they are his though. They're small things, mostly stuff we've had for years. Tools, lawn equipment, etc. Nothing with titles and the receipts are long gone if we bought them new. Many we bought used or at auctions.

My other question is, if it's been over a year, how long am I expected to keep stuff that someone left here?
 

FlyingRon

Senior Member
Summons to which court exactly? "Powers of attorney" are not authorized in any of the Virginia courts. In small claims devision, even real attorneys aren't permitted (other than to remove it to a non-small claims action).
I'd run all the paperwork you got past a local attorney. I suspect something's not correct in what's going on here.

It's the plaintiff that must show by the preponderence of the evidence that his claim is valid.
 

Valkyrii

Junior Member
It is civil court that is all the warrant says. There is a stipulation in my attackers sentencing or whatever it's called that says he is not allowed to have any contact with me even via third party or else it violates the suspension time on his sentence . I apologize if my legal lingo isn't quite correct. He was originally sentenced to 30 years for abduction and malicious wounding and all but 10 years were suspended. His stuff was abandoned here as of October 15, 2014 when he was arrested . We did hold onto a lot of it until after the sentencing because we had tried repeatedly to get someone to come retrieve it and no one would. His uncle did come get some of it but his uncle has since passed away and I do not have any clue what happened to those things. However I would say 90% of what was left here was complete garbage because he had left it out in the weather and it was submerged in water for months.

This warrant that was served on me today is the first contact I have had with his power of attorney or him since he was arrested, in regards to his stuff. The list they included with the warrant is very vague and a lot of the values that she placed on things are completely inflated such as valuing a scrap refrigerator and $100. Other items never belong to him in the first place and he is only aware of them because he lived here and saw them. His power of attorney has never been to my home or seen anything that is on my property . To my knowledge anyway.
 

Valkyrii

Junior Member
I forgot to add that the total they are claiming is $11,400. $5000 of that is for a tractor which I have a bill of sale for in my name from when I purchased it in 2012. That tractor belongs to me and always has so I'm hoping the Billis sale will be all that is needed since there are no titles for tractirs here.
 

Valkyrii

Junior Member
Further apologies for my atrocious spelling and grammar. I have been in a pretty bad state of anxiety/panic since the warrant came in the mail today. The PTSD from his assault on me is something I struggle with daily and this new development just completely set it into high gear.
 

LdiJ

Senior Member
Further apologies for my atrocious spelling and grammar. I have been in a pretty bad state of anxiety/panic since the warrant came in the mail today. The PTSD from his assault on me is something I struggle with daily and this new development just completely set it into high gear.
If you cannot handle even finding out what court its in, then you honestly need to get yourself an attorney. I suspect that an attorney can make this go away pretty fast, since I am pretty sure that his POA cannot represent him in court.
 

FlyingRon

Senior Member
There is no such thing as "civil court." I suspect you have General District Court but it needs to be identifed as small claims or civil hearing.

I'm still not undrestanding what you are saying. Powers of attorney can't file suits. I'd recommend you take everything to a lawyer, you don't seem to be able to express what is going on in a useful fashion. I'd also forward a copy to the state department of corrections if there is indeed a non contact order.
 

Valkyrii

Junior Member
Found it on the warrant and it is General District Court.

The warrant is a Warrant in Detinue (Civil Claim for Specific Personal Property)

She (his PoA) filed the Warrant in Detinue against me on his behalf. She attached a list of random stuff with very inflated values next to each. These are things that typically don't have clear ownership (no titles) but are nickel and dime valuable such as tools. It's as if he remembered what was here and made a list to say it was his, mixed in with a few things that were his. The list is fairly vague. Examples would be: Weedeater ($100), red bag and contents - do not open ($50), TV ($50), generator on porch ($300).

Another way to explain it is if I went to your house, saw a bunch of stuff I liked, made a list and took you to court saying it was mine.

He has been gone from my property since 10-15-2014. He did NOT pay rent nor have a lease. He was a guest here. He nor his lawyer nor his PoA made any attempt to collect his belongings (clothing, TV, household items) in all this time. This is the first contact they've made about it, which is to sue me. It will be a year and half on March 15th since his stuff was left here. He left most of his stuff outside and it was ruined from sitting in the weather for months. The roof of the camper leaked and we threw away most if the contents because it was filthy with water damage and a health concern. My victim advocate and the Commonwealth Attorney for the criminal case against him were aware of this and said that was okay.

He plead guilty to abducting me and to malicious wounding in June. He then plead guilty to 9 counts of violating the protective order in September. At that time, his ex-wife/PoA contacted my boss to ask him to retrieve the stuff and my boss told her he would not. She has yet to directly contact me or ask anyone else to contact me.

I made numerous attempts to get someone here to get his stuff and was ignored. His family did get some of it which they did who knows what with.

There is a protective order in place which states he can't contact me even via 3rd party. Not sure if this counts as him violating that. Conditions of his sentencing state he is to have no contact with me for the remainder of his sentence and any future probabtion or he forfeits his suspended time and must serve his full 30 years.

I guess my biggest concern is do they have a leg to stand on? If she is only PoA, will the judge even hear it or just toss it out?

I apologize for being all over the place earlier. I was VERY upset and also trying to type from my phone which is never a good combination.

Thank you for trying to decipher this for me. I have put out emails to my victim advocate but I'm unsure if she can be of much help since this is a civil matter.

Edit - It is NOT listed as small claims on the warrant. The amount she is seeking is $11,400.00
 
Last edited:

OHRoadwarrior

Senior Member
You need to have a lawyer draft a motion to show cause, IE receipts or other proof these item existed, were in your care and were worth what he claims. Also his POA would need to be a lawyer to file this legally. If they are not, again a motion for dismissal.
 

Find the Right Lawyer for Your Legal Issue!

Fast, Free, and Confidential
data-ad-format="auto">
Top