Halket one more question for ya!!

[hound dog]

Thanks for the tip I already preparing to counter sue. I got that information months ago and sent them a nice letter and a copy of it but it did not do any good.My question is this in the petion to go to court it states that I sign the contract lease in their home town which i did not I do not know where that is have no clue. So my question is how can they sue me in there home town court. When the house and the contract was in a town four hours away. So if I was going to counter sue can I sue anywhere?????
Also if they cannot do this then what step do i need to take to get a dafault or thrown out to save me a trip if not then how do i need to bring it up to the judge. I am going to fight this but i want to do it fairly. This guy is a doctor and i am sure he is chummy with the local lawyers and judges so I really feel like i will not get a fair case in their home town.That means instead of driing 12hrs. to the place where the house resides now i have to go 4 more to there home town . I do not see any fair in that. Also is my counter claim can i sure them for traveling expenses???????????

 

[JETX]

Sorry, but I have read (and re-read) your post and I can't figure out any of the relevant facts to your issue. Please repost them in a concise, factual way and I would be glad to review them again.

 

[hound dog]

My question is the house and the lease is in a town four hours away from the court and county they filed in...................now in Missouri law it states they have to file in the county the lease was sign .........they did not they filed in a town four hours away. So my question is what steps do I need to take to get it thrown out b/c it was filed in the wrong county. thankyou

 

[hound dog]

I will give you alittle insight into my case. I moved out in the end of November. I mailed them a letter stating my new address and phone number. The landlord called me a couple of days later stating the house looked good and it only needed 175.00 of repairs and he would send me the rest of my deposit nothing in writing.The next call I get is in Feb. from his wife stating we need to pay them 300.00 well i told her to send me something in writing well when that came it was a whole other story. IT jumped from 300 to 1200. Well i got that list of reasons why they held my deposit 87 days after I left which in Missouri law I can sue for double which I will. They mailed me a letter saying they restore the house to the condition it was before we moved in we only lived there 6mths. and they also claim we had a dog which we did not and they charged us 200.00 to clean which the house was very clean before we left. We do have photos and witnesses but all are here in texas . The likley hood of them coming all the way to Missouri is slim to none so I guess Iwill get a written statement from them. I feel I have a strong case but the traveling is the problem.

 

[JETX]

Okay, if I understand this correctly, here is the scenario:

You rented a house in Missouri, the landlord apparently lives in another state (or at least 4 hours from the county of the property) and you now live in Texas. Some 87 days after you moved, you received a 'deposit statement' from the landlord detailing an additional $1200 in damages. Subsequently, the landlord has filed a lawsuit in their county/state to try to recover their claimed damages.

If the above is correct, I would suggest you file a "Motion to Dismiss Due to Lack of Jurisdiction". Detail where the rental agreement was signed and cite the Missouri code you referred to that requires a lawsuit to be filed in that county. Close with a request that the court dismiss the complaint. File this request with the court (certified RRR) and ask that a copy be timestamped and returned to you.

Also, you need to realize that if the court grants this motion, you could still be sued by the landlords if they want to file in the correct county court.

Also, due to their violation of the state 30 day requirement, they are liable for certain damages also.

I would suggest that you write them a very nice, cordial letter (again certified RRR). Point out that they have certain statutory obligations which were not met and that you feel you are in a strong position to recover damages against them. Suggest that you both agree to cease any claim against each other. If they agree, ask them to submit a mutually binding release requiring signatures of all parties.

Here is an excerpt of some of the requirements that a Missouri landlord has (from the MO AG site):
"Under Missouri law, a landlord can only require a maximum two months' rent as a security deposit.

At the end of the lease, the landlord has 30 days to return the security deposit with an itemized list of damages for which any portion of the deposit is kept.

During that 30-day period, the landlord must notify the tenant of the time and date when the landlord plans to inspect the dwelling.

The tenant has the right to be present during the move-out inspection, which must be conducted during regular business hours.

To avoid last-minute problems, tenants should ask the landlord in what condition he expects the unit to be left. Then allow plenty of time for cleaning. A dirty stove could be a $25 deduction.
The landlord may keep all or part of a deposit to pay for actual damages (not for normal wear and tear), unpaid rent, or lost rent due to the tenant moving out without adequate notice.

The tenant may not use the security deposit to pay the last month's rent.

Remember to give the landlord your forwarding address in writing. Otherwise, he may not be able to send your deposit.

If the landlord has wrongfully withheld all or part of a deposit, the tenant may sue to recover up to twice the amount wrongfully withheld."
Source: http://www.ago.state.mo.us/landlord.htm

Also, in particular, you should read the MO statutes as to handling of deposits. It can be viewed at:
http://www.moga.state.mo.us/statutes/C500-599/5350300.HTM

The full statutes can be found at:
http://www.moga.state.mo.us/STATUTES/C535.HTM