False Accusation made by roommates

[reg190]

State: Pennsylvania

Hi everyone. I've recently found myself in quite a jam.

I currently live in a two bedroom, four person apartment. Last Wednesday, October 14, I went out to a friend's house, only to come home late and quite intoxicated. I went right to sleep, woke up the next morning, and went to class.

We have recently gained a new fourth roommate, who on this night was studying Physics in the living room. Upon going to sleep, he claimed to have put his textbook on the coffee table. The next day, he could not find the book. He looked all over for it, but simply could not find it.

Needless to say, I went out to a club on thursday night, and came home at around roughly 12-1. I was immediately confronted by all three of my roommates (headed by the new roommate, who is 28 while we are all 22). My newest roommate told me he found his textbook, and that it was under a couch. I congratulated him on finding the book, and went to go to sleep. He then began questioning me asking me why it would be there, only to finish off by saying,

"You know what I think? I think you hid that book under the couch, hoping I wouldn't find it. And once I gave up, you were going to sell it back to the bookstore."

This is a ludicrous statement. Not only would I not steal, but I am not stupid enough to steal from a roommate, hide what I stole in the same area as I took it (He found the book under a couch in the living room, where he was studying), and the book would only net maybe $30. That isn't enough for me to risk losing my home.

Needless to say, my three roommates told me I had 15 days to move out. Now, I have two questions.

1) I had the lease agreement signed, but never got to turn it into the real estate company before this happened. We were friends and I was paying the rent promptly and on time and I otherwise did not bother them. So can they evict me like this, especially over an accusation?

2) Would them accusing me of this qualify as slander? They wrote me this crazy legal note telling me they read Pennsylvania Landlord-Tenant Laws and that they contacted an attorney. They also insinuated that upon my moving out I might steal or damage their property, and that after I move out they will get the right to inspect the property for damage. These guys are only tenants, and they can make up whatever they want if they wanted to. I know I didn't touch this guy's stuff, and no matter how I approached this situation with my roommates, they firmly believe I did it.

They have no proof, and I don't understand how they consider anything stealing when the kid found his book in the same area he lost it in, and only one day later.

What I can do here?

[IsabellaSoriano]

legally, they cannot evict you without a court order.

legally, they can inspect the living space after you leave. how would you stop them anyway? i'd take a video of a walk through WITH them.

[reg190]

I have no problem with allowing them to inspect the property. My main concern was how to prevent them from wrongfully accusing me of taking things or breaking/damaging objects. I guess taking a video would be a good indicator.

[reg190]

I also wanted to know if them going around telling others that I stole from them can be considered slander. They have no evidence and are going on solely suspicion and hearsay.

[xylene]

You probably need to talk to a lawyer.

This is an escalating and serious situation, and your roommates are trying to evict you under quasi-legal-ish terms

They claim they have a lawyer. Whether they do or that is some bluff, you need one.

[Banned_Princess]

Are you listed on the lease?

Your roommates have no authority to throw you out, and even if they did they would have to do it in court. via judges orders.

And once they actually try to get this heard in court, you can call your local ABA and get the number to lawyers who can represent you as a low income individual. then the judge will decide whats relevent and who should go, and who can get out of the lease.

I suspect someone wants their own room.

PS. Why dont YOU also read the LL tenant laws for PA?

[reg190]

No, I am not on the lease, technically. I have the entirety of it filled out, but just never got around to it. I'm a college student, so I've been pretty tied up.

I cannot afford a lawyer, period. I have $750 in my bank account, and that was supposed to be my rent money ($225 a month + $25 for utilities). I understand this is escalating, although I doubt they seriously have a lawyer. I've seen these kind of scare tactics. They assume I'm stupid and will believe their threats.

Regardless, I entered an oral contract with one of the roommates upon moving in that I would live there for one year (starting this past september and ending late august next year). I still haven't heard anything in regards to my question about slander. I am honestly more concerned about them making people believe I'm some kind of thief than anything else. I already found a new place to move.

[IsabellaSoriano]

Originally Posted by reg190

No, I am not on the lease, technically. I have the entirety of it filled out, but just never got around to it. I'm a college student, so I've been pretty tied up.

I cannot afford a lawyer, period. I have $750 in my bank account, and that was supposed to be my rent money ($225 a month + $25 for utilities). I understand this is escalating, although I doubt they seriously have a lawyer. I've seen these kind of scare tactics. They assume I'm stupid and will believe their threats.

Regardless, I entered an oral contract with one of the roommates upon moving in that I would live there for one year (starting this past september and ending late august next year). I still haven't heard anything in regards to my question about slander. I am honestly more concerned about them making people believe I'm some kind of thief than anything else. I already found a new place to move.

well, the thing with slander is....it's not as cut and dry as alot of people think.


granted, i believe it is possible the darn book fell, i wouldn't even have been surprised if you bumped into the coffee table in your drunken stupor. but at this point, who cares. the book was found. no police report was filed. and until you can never get a job, a place to live, food to eat, you have no loss.

[Banned_Princess]

Yea, what have you lost due to the "slander" nothing. It is ok for people to have their opinions about you, until you can prove you have suffered some economic loss due to the "opinion" then it is just an opinion.

[reg190]

What have I lost? Well for starters they want me to move out, so I lost my home.

They have been spewing this nonsense to everyone that possibly knows me, so there are plenty of rumors that I am a thief and because of that people are wary/anxious around me, act differently since then, and overall have a reluctance to be around me.

Sure, I didn't lose money. But I lost a good amount of my reputation and my home. I'm sure that's a pretty big loss.

[quincy]

reg190, yes, it is slanderous for your former roommates to say you are a thief when you are not. It does not matter if they tell one of their closest friends or not. If they tell ANY third party that you are a thief, without proof that you are a thief, it is defamation.

It is also NOT protected opinion to falsely say someone is a thief. It is defamation. There does not have to be an economic loss - reputational injury is the only loss that needs to be demonstrated.

However, you have problems with both slander and your oral agreement on the lease.

If you are not on a lease with the landlord, you would have a hard time proving that you are legally a tenant and not just someone the other roommates allowed to stay for awhile. The other roommates will probably support each other with the contention that you were not officially living with them. Without proof to the contrary (and a filled-in lease that was never provided to the landlord is not proof), the roommates who ARE on the lease can kick you out.

In addition, slander is exceptionally hard to prove, unless you have "witnesses" who can support your claim that the roommates have been saying falsely that you are a thief.

With only $750 in your bank account, using this money to hire a lawyer would probably not be in your best interests. There are legal aid clinics available, if you wish to run your situation by an attorney. If you are going to school in the Philadelphia area, there are several legal aid clinics, including landlord/tenant clinics, and Philly has a couple of law schools where you can seek advice, but other college areas of Pennsylvania will have good resources available to you, as well.

But I am afraid that any attorney you contact will advise you that a defamation lawsuit is not worth pursuing and would be one you could not win without far more proof of reputational injury than what you have posted here.

An attorney COULD send a cease and desist letter to the roommates, advising them that calling you a thief without proof is defamatory and that they should immediately cease spreading such lies. That may, however, be the extent of what you can do without spending FAR more money than you have available, with very little chance of recovering any of this money in an award of damages.

[Yertle8]

Originally Posted by Banned_Princess

Yea, what have you lost due to the "slander" nothing. It is ok for people to have their opinions about you, until you can prove you have suffered some economic loss due to the "opinion" then it is just an opinion.

Telling a third party that you are guilty of a crime, when you are not, is defamation per se. Saying someone is a thief is nowhere near opinion.

What quincy recommends is the way to go, as is typically the case.