Landlord wants me to replace already stained carpet?

[FrankJr]

I've never been to hearing, so do you happen to know what kind of questions I'll be asked? I'd like to be prepared for whatever this attorney will try to throw at us. Also, which points and evidence should I lean toward that will help my case?

Thank you all again! Appreciate all of your input and feedback!

 

[FarmerJ]

the most likely types of questions the court might ask could start with asking if the complaint is true or not. of course if its not true then they would want to know why. On the other end of things there has to be just more than he said she said , this collection agent must be able to show the court that they have the right to represent the former landlord as the LLs attorney ( your local court clerk can tell you what the dollar limit is for small claims court , see when a civil claim is over the preset maximum for small claims then it should be heard in district court where normally then one would have to have a attorney, ALSO ask the clerk of the court how long the time frame is for filing small claims , if state law say set it to two years?? then that's something else to argue about in court , that the claim is too old ) if the original landlord sold this unproven debt just like many other items are sold off to collection agencies then if it was me I would want to know why the collection agency doesn't have a court awarded judgment in hand giving them the right to collect this claim. Your free to let the court know you did not get proper notice of the hearing and how you learned of it ( since it sure sounds like the collection firm may have chose to try to get into court with out you knowing which would have given them a win by default. the court might ask you about the carpets condition, I don't know what else , but so you know , landlords are held to a high standard when it comes to how they conduct the business of being a landlord and the collection agency has rules too and they have to follow them . ( if the collection agency claims they are representing the LL then do not back down , they have to be able to show the court the condition of the carpet at your move out , they need to show how old it was, they should be able to show what the depreciated value was , etc .

 

[LdiJ]

Thank you Zigner and FarmerJ. I do plan on being there to contest this. Thanks again for your input and suggestions.

I don't think going after a $100 remaining deposit (previously $200 after remaining water bill) will be a hassle. I never said I was fine with them wanting me to pay for the replacement of the carpet. They sent me this bill weeks after I moved out. I went over the condition checklist with them and stated we didn't cause these stains. I wrote them a letter stating I didn't feel obligated to replacing an entire apartment's carpet (after 1 year of residence) and they didn't like my answer. Therefore they get a collection agency. I deal with the collection agency for months, then 4 years later we go again.

Furthermore, I just happened to look online through our local court records to see where this mess was going. I'm glad I did, because I didn't know about it, and here we are in late June. Apparently, it states that in May, an order set for a hearing was obtained. Noted below was the attorney's signature stating a copy of this hearing (date and time) would be sent to my home within 7 days of it being filed. I'm no math wiz, but here it is late June and I've yet to receive anything in the mail about this hearing, which is set for July. I'm just not sure why I haven't been notified about this already.

Thanks again to all for your input! Much appreciated!

A classic collection agency tactic when they sue someone is to serve them at an address where they KNOW that they no longer live...in this case, probably the address of the stained carpet...then, they get a default ruling and hope that you do not challenge the default ruling.

Since you know about the hearing, show up with your evidence that those stains already existed when you moved in, and be prepared to testify that you had an area rug over one stain and your couch over the other, because they were unsightly, which further backs up your story. You also need to complain to the court that you were NOT served, but rather found out about the hearing online. Also be prepared to demonstrate that the collection agency knew that you did not live at the address they served you at, because the corresponded with you after you moved out. The collection agency's attorney will be unlikely to be prepared to actually litigate the case because they will expect you to be a no show and will then either scramble to try to pull something off, making YOU look more credible, or they will ask for a continuance. If they ask for a continuance object and state that you are ready for the case to be heard.

Collection agencies really cannot afford to actually litigate cases. Their whole business model is based on either scaring people into paying or getting default judgments. Bad landlords cannot afford to litigate cases either, their whole business model is based on making up fake charges and then selling them to collection agencies.

 

[FrankJr]

According to the plaintiff, I benefited from this apartment complex and am rightfully due this charge because I voluntary accept the benefit of this transaction and all obligations that go with it (I'm guessing they mean, even to replace this dirty carpet). Is there any kind of defense around this claim? Plus, I doubt this is a law, but found this nugget today..."Tenants are required to leave the unit as clean as when they moved in." Does that statement hold much in court? Just wondering, because that's pretty much what this really is.

Also, should I have an affidavit ready to submit as well?

BTW, I still have yet to receive my notice of the hearing

 

[LdiJ]

According to the plaintiff, I benefited from this apartment complex and am rightfully due this charge because I voluntary accept the benefit of this transaction and all obligations that go with it (I'm guessing they mean, even to replace this dirty carpet). Is there any kind of defense around this claim? Plus, I doubt this is a law, but found this nugget today..."Tenants are required to leave the unit as clean as when they moved in." Does that statement hold much in court? Just wondering, because that's pretty much what this really is.

Also, should I have an affidavit ready to submit as well?

BTW, I still have yet to receive my notice of the hearing

The bolded is just standard legalese that has no bearing on your specific issues. There is nothing to defend there. That statement is included in every case they file for a landlord/tenant situation.

 

[FarmerJ]

Frank that collection agency is doing any thing it can to get you to pay, just show up in court and like what was said before , you want to know how old the carpet was when you moved in, you want to know how much useful life it had left and you want proof , you want to treat the collector as if they were the landlord and you want the court to know that this is a collector , not the actual landlord so it would be reasonable to expect the collector to show its legal right to represent the landlord in this matter, Don't be afraid of them , ill lay good odds in court they might not look real good (meaning they may end up looking very foolish if they cant tell the court how old the carpet was when you moved in or how much so called useful life it had and how much its depreciated value was , If you get into court and the court agrees that they should be able to produce those things and they cant protest if they ask for extra time (continuance) first time in civil court can be a bit awkward not knowing what to expect but keep in mind courts hold landlords to higher standards and since the bill collection firm is a business the court wont tolerate them claiming ignorance.

 

[FrankJr]

Well, the court appearance turned out to be different than expected. The attorney representing the collection agency DID NOT SHOW. However, I wasn't his only defendant. He had another gentleman there who was expecting to defend his case against this same collection agency. With that, the judge tried to call the attorney and didn't receive an answer. He then said he was going to try to dismiss the case. That was fine by me. This morning I check on the status of the case online and well, it looks like I'm going back to court AGAIN at the end of this month. I hope he decides to show up this time. This could've been over with already. Not sure what kind of logic this attorney has by his absence on this first attempt. However, I don't plan on making these visits continually. Is he trying to win by expecting us to be absent as well?

When I told the judge that I found out about my first court date online and not through mail as stated, he didn't look pleased. I asked the other gentleman if he received a notice in the mail and he did. The other defendant basically has the same case, but worse. His apartment was in bad condition upon moving in and with carpet damaged and expected him to take care of all of the costs as well. Turns out it's the same apartment management, yet different apartment complex.

Anyway, just wanted to fill you in on the current status of this case.

 

[FarmerJ]

I have no idea as to why the attorney didn't show , its too bad you didn't get ( insist ) the judge to just find in your favor instead. But I know this much that Judge most likely is not very happy now Your next time there if the atty again no shows then ask the judge to please find in your favor. If the atty does show up then full guns forward You want to know what the depreciated value of the carpet that was there when you moved in was and how old it was, If the atty doesn't have it with politely offer that it appears this atty does not value the courts time by failing to be ready and that you think it would be very unfair to have this matter continued any further.

 

[FrankJr]

Well, what happens when neither party shows up? Seems as if the plaintiff's attorney figured that me and this other guy would not show up. We (the other defendant and I) asked if our cases could be dismissed. The judge said he would try to and see if the attorney would consider rescheduling. Here we both were, ready to take care of business.

 

[FarmerJ]

personally to me it is asinine that the Judge would have wanted to try to re schedule ,(with out having a good reason in front of him/ her like say someone from the atty office showing up only to tell the court that the atty is in the hospital now and not able to be present and request a continuance ) My opinion is that the judge should have given you a default win and ended the whole thing. BUT at this point your just going to have to see what the Judge does re rescheduling or dismissal. But if you do go back into court do not back down again.