What is the name of your state? Pennsylvania
My son and I have been issued a civil complaint against us by his former college roommate. He is seeking utility payments for the summer months in which my son did not live in the apartment. We are amenable to paying the bills, however we were never given copies of the bills. My son issued a check to pay for the utilities and after giving his roommate the check spoke to his other roommates and they thought they were being over charged for the utilities. My son stopped payment on the check and requested copies of the bills. Instead of receiving copies of the bills, we received a civil complaint and repeated abusive emails when trying to resolve the problem. What is my son's responsibility to payment of these bills and the additional district justice charges? There was never a signed roommate agreement, for the lease months of August 2005 through August 2006, we paid the rent to the apartment complex and up until the months of May my son paid for his share of the monthly utilities. The roommate assumed all responsibility for the utilties under his name only. Another sad turn of events is that my son was encountered by his former roommate at a local bar last night and within 24 hours the roommate filed charges stating that my son pushed him. With no concrete evidence of an altercation, the local police notified my son that he will be charged with harassment because the roommate and his friend stated that he was pushed. Ironically, the roommate had threatened this type of recourse repeatedly. We realize that this is a separate issue that we will be fighting in court also with his witnesses.
My son and I have been issued a civil complaint against us by his former college roommate. He is seeking utility payments for the summer months in which my son did not live in the apartment. We are amenable to paying the bills, however we were never given copies of the bills. My son issued a check to pay for the utilities and after giving his roommate the check spoke to his other roommates and they thought they were being over charged for the utilities. My son stopped payment on the check and requested copies of the bills. Instead of receiving copies of the bills, we received a civil complaint and repeated abusive emails when trying to resolve the problem. What is my son's responsibility to payment of these bills and the additional district justice charges? There was never a signed roommate agreement, for the lease months of August 2005 through August 2006, we paid the rent to the apartment complex and up until the months of May my son paid for his share of the monthly utilities. The roommate assumed all responsibility for the utilties under his name only. Another sad turn of events is that my son was encountered by his former roommate at a local bar last night and within 24 hours the roommate filed charges stating that my son pushed him. With no concrete evidence of an altercation, the local police notified my son that he will be charged with harassment because the roommate and his friend stated that he was pushed. Ironically, the roommate had threatened this type of recourse repeatedly. We realize that this is a separate issue that we will be fighting in court also with his witnesses.