Being Countersued in Small Claimns

[Shiro]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Kansas

My husband and I are taking our former landlords to court to try and get our security deposit back. It was 950. The landlords live in Florida. They are now countersuing us for travel expenses, car rental, hotel and lost wages. I know that the wife is a home maker and the husband is a salaried employee. Their countersuit is almost 4,000! Do they have the ability to collect on lost wages and travel in small claims?

 

[Antigone*]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Kansas

My husband and I are taking our former landlords to court to try and get our security deposit back. It was 950. The landlords live in Florida. They are now countersuing us for travel expenses, car rental, hotel and lost wages. I know that the wife is a home maker and the husband is a salaried employee. Their countersuit is almost 4,000! Do they have the ability to collect on lost wages and travel in small claims?

This is considered their cost of doing business. Use this argument in court if the judge allows the countersuit. I have a feeling he/she will toss out their claim.

 

[swalsh411]

They are trying to frighten you into dropping your claim. Don't fall for it.

 

[Shiro]

They are trying to frighten you into dropping your claim. Don't fall for it.

Thank you guys for the answers. My husband and I are living paycheck to paycheck; we barely scraped up the money to file this lawsuit, plus we had to hire a PI to serve them because Florida isn't Kansas's jurisdiction. It's been a nightmare, and we're scared enough of court as it is. I'm just so nervous. I have paperwork and witnesses and such, but these people have lots of money and have tried several times to scare us out of going to court.

 

[Antigone*]

Thank you guys for the answers. My husband and I are living paycheck to paycheck; we barely scraped up the money to file this lawsuit, plus we had to hire a PI to serve them because Florida isn't Kansas's jurisdiction. It's been a nightmare, and we're scared enough of court as it is. I'm just so nervous. I have paperwork and witnesses and such, but these people have lots of money and have tried several times to scare us out of going to court.

Don't be bullied. I wish you luck.

 

[Ohiogal]

Was the property you rented located in Kansas?

 

[Shiro]

Was the property you rented located in Kansas?

Yes. The property is in Butler county, Kansas. The landlords live in northern Florida. We checked with the court to make sure we could proceed with the case, because they live out of state. Usually, a person cannot do that. Landlord/tenant issues are one of the few times a person can sue someone out of state.

 

[latigo]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Kansas

My husband and I are taking our former landlords to court to try and get our security deposit back. It was 950. The landlords live in Florida. They are now countersuing us for travel expenses, car rental, hotel and lost wages. I know that the wife is a home maker and the husband is a salaried employee. Their countersuit is almost 4,000! Do they have the ability to collect on lost wages and travel in small claims?

Not to worry. Because as others have written none of the incidental expenses for which the defendants are purportedly demanding reimbursement are compensable in a court of law! Period, end of story!

But your post raises more questions than have been asked.

For instance, how have you convinced the court in which you filed your lawsuit – apparently in Kansas – that it has personal jurisdiction over the non-resident defendants/landlords?

I’m not saying that the Kansas court can’t assume personal jurisdiction under the state’s Long Arm Statute - just curious as to how you went about it; how obtained personal service on the out of state defendants: and particularly “how” in a small claims forum.

For if was not done properly, then any judgment that you may get cannot be enforced in Florida under the “full faith and credit” clause of the Constitution.

Have the defendants made a general appearance in the Kansas court case? That is, have they filed a written response to your claim other than a special appearance to challenge jurisdiction? Have they actually filed their counterclaim?

 

[tranquility]

While there may be a long arm statute, we might also just have basic jurisdiction by the substantial minimum contacts based on the rental of the property. (But, the long-arm would cover it too. http://www.lrcvaw.org/laws/kslongarm.pdf) As to any judgment, the defendant has a big fat 'ol property in Kansas.

 

[Shiro]

Not to worry. Because as others have written none of the incidental expenses for which the defendants are purportedly demanding reimbursement are compensable in a court of law! Period, end of story!

But your post raises more questions than have been asked.

For instance, how have you convinced the court in which you filed your lawsuit – apparently in Kansas – that it has personal jurisdiction over the non-resident defendants/landlords?

I’m not saying that the Kansas court can’t assume personal jurisdiction under the state’s Long Arm Statute - just curious as to how you went about it; how obtained personal service on the out of state defendants: and particularly “how” in a small claims forum.

For if was not done properly, then any judgment that you may get cannot be enforced in Florida under the “full faith and credit” clause of the Constitution.

Have the defendants made a general appearance in the Kansas court case? That is, have they filed a written response to your claim other than a special appearance to challenge jurisdiction? Have they actually filed their counterclaim?

I didn't want to bog down my original question with a lot of backstory...maybe we'll win and maybe we won't. I just didn't want to be bullied out of even attending the proceedings.

Because the landlords own the property in Kansas, we had to file in Kansas. When my husband and I looked up information on how to file the small claims case we found this:'

The out-of-state owner of real property (including owners of apartments and other rental housing) located in Kansas may be sued here on claims relating to that property.

When we went to the court initially we were told that Butler County court couldn't have a cop issue them the papers because Florida isn't in Kansas's jurisdiction. We had to actually hire a PI (a disinterested third party) to deliver the papers and get a signature. This is a pain in the butt, but we did it. It cost us about $50.

The landlords have filed written responses to our original claim. They went as far as to offer to pay us $500 to make the case go away. We said no, because at this point, it's cost us more than $500 in court fees and such. They've known since February that they were being sued and we tried mediation. It's only yesterday that we were served with papers with regard to counterclaim.

 

[Mass_Shyster]

For instance, how have you convinced the court in which you filed your lawsuit – apparently in Kansas – that it has personal jurisdiction over the non-resident defendants/landlords?

In rem Jurisdiction.