Roommate refuses pay for damages/repairs

[joshgosh]

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

My roommate --we are both on the lease-- came home without his key and chose to kick in the front door instead as a means of getting in. Since then he has said he will fix the door, but it has been over a month that he has done nothing. Tired of waiting, I decided to call a repairman, who said the cost of fixing the door would be $400. My roommate says he is only willing to contribute $50 towards the new door, because that is what he thinks he would have spent (which is not true) on a new door. Since we are both on the lease, my landlord is indifferent to who pays for the new door. How can I get my roommate to pay for the repairs in full?

 

[sandyclaus]

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

My roommate --we are both on the lease-- came home without his key and chose to kick in the front door instead as a means of getting in. Since then he has said he will fix the door, but it has been over a month that he has done nothing. Tired of waiting, I decided to call a repairman, who said the cost of fixing the door would be $400. My roommate says he is only willing to contribute $50 towards the new door, because that is what he thinks he would have spent (which is not true) on a new door. Since we are both on the lease, my landlord is indifferent to who pays for the new door. How can I get my roommate to pay for the repairs in full?

Sue the bad roommate in Small Claims court. When you go, bring proof of the actual cost of what you paid to repair the door and door frame that was damaged. Let the judge teach your cheapskate roommate a lesson in economics.

 

[latigo]

Sue the bad roommate in Small Claims court. When you go, bring proof of the actual cost of what you paid to repair the door and door frame that was damaged. Let the judge teach your cheapskate roommate a lesson in economics.

Lesson?

The only lesson the OP would learn from following your unschooled recommendation is that he has no cause of action for the damage to the landlord’s door.

The OP doesn't own the bloody door, dude! It was the landlord’s property that was damaged.

Nor would such a lawsuit by the tenant prevent the landlord from suing the same defendant for the same thing.

Which, for your enlightenment is why there is a prevalent, if not universal rule of law hereabouts that “every action must be brought in the name of the real party in interest . . . ” (E. g., Cal CCP Section 367)

‘‘The purpose of the real party in interest requirement is to assure that any judgment rendered will bar the owner of the claim sued upon from relitigating. “It is to save a defendant, against whom a judgment may be obtained, from further harassment or vexation at the hands of some other claimant to the same demand.” Giselman v. Starr (1895) 106 Cal. 651, 657; see also Cloud v. Northrop Grumman Corp, 67 CalApp 4th 995.

 

[joshgosh]

Lesson?

The only lesson the OP would learn from following your unschooled recommendation is that he has no cause of action for the damage to the landlord’s door.

The OP doesn't own the bloody door, dude! It was the landlord’s property that was damaged.

Nor would such a lawsuit by the tenant prevent the landlord from suing the same defendant for the same thing.

Which, for your enlightenment is why there is a prevalent, if not universal rule of law hereabouts that “every action must be brought in the name of the real party in interest . . . ” (E. g., Cal CCP Section 367)

‘‘The purpose of the real party in interest requirement is to assure that any judgment rendered will bar the owner of the claim sued upon from relitigating. “It is to save a defendant, against whom a judgment may be obtained, from further harassment or vexation at the hands of some other claimant to the same demand.” Giselman v. Starr (1895) 106 Cal. 651, 657; see also Cloud v. Northrop Grumman Corp, 67 CalApp 4th 995.

So does that mean that if I pay for the door to be repaired--because judging from the actions of my roommate up until now, it won't be fixed any time soon, and I believe I have a right to live in a home without a broken front door--that I don't have the right to sue him for the costs of the repair but would instead need to seek the landlord to file suit against him? Is there any way for me to recover the costs of the repair?

 

[Ohiogal]

So does that mean that if I pay for the door to be repaired--because judging from the actions of my roommate up until now, it won't be fixed any time soon, and I believe I have a right to live in a home without a broken front door--that I don't have the right to sue him for the costs of the repair but would instead need to seek the landlord to file suit against him? Is there any way for me to recover the costs of the repair?

You let the landlord fix the door and charge the two of you (take it out of your security) and then sue the roommate for the loss of your security deposit.

 

[swalsh411]

I think either route would work. Judges in small claims have a lot of discretion. Obviously a broken front door (that does not secure entry into the apartment) is something that must be fixed ASAP so the OP would have every right to get this fixed on his own and then sue the roommate if the LL did not fix immediately.