Lost small claims, should I appeal, I feel very embarrassed and ashamed (bed bugs)

[chris5014]

Ohio - so long story short, do seasonal summer job, signed a 8 month lease from March - Nov 2014. Move in April 2nd. After a week, notice bites all over me and a day later discover there was a bed bug infestation (previous infestation). Called the landlord right away, he wasnt aware of any bed bugs before I moved in so he claims, despite a good amount of droppings on the walls etc. Exterminator was out in 2 days, sprayed, they went away for 3 days but came back again. He comes back two weeks later, sprays and informs me he thinks they lived there previously. I asked around and my neighbor also says he knew of bed bug problems in that unit (tried to get him to come to court but he was in jail at the time I believe) before I moved in, once again, confront my landlord he denies knowing anything. Finally after 4 treatments (3 months, tons of bites and no improvement, I couldn't take it anymore, loss of sleep etc. So I called the landlord and he agrees to break lease and refund deposit. I was told by the exterminator not to dispose my furniture, but I found one crawling on my dresser after the the third treatment and decide to toss 90% of my stuff to prevent them from getting into my families house. Either way, I was very mad, no one wanted me to stay with them so I had to sleep in my car for four days until I was certain they were gone. I decide to file a small claim against my landlord for return of rent and deposit after I signed the lease, verbal agreement to break lease and return deposit (let me add apartment was disgusting, mold, rotten floors etc). I suffered through this for four months and even went to the hospital and didnt present my hospital bill because I was so flustered I forgot about it. Anyways, 4 months later court finally comes. I met with an attorney to organize my case, got text messages, pictures etc together, moving bills, storage fees. So finally I have my date to present my case. Anyways, I was very unprepared for the case. I froze up and become incredibly nervous (do that all the time when put on the spot). I lost track of what I was trying to say, my brother was witness and I didn't know what to ask him, I froze up. I started asking him about the apartment and asked him if we have ever had bb before, he said no, but I also started answering his questions. Judge becomes angry and begins yelling at me to stop answering my questions. I get nervous freak out and have a brain fart. My landlord was well prepared, had an attorney and had a counter claim for breach of contract for 5 reaming months. I was suing for loss of stuff emotional damage etc (aka return of rent and deposit) landlord said he would return it never did, even after sending my demand letter before court to settle. My landlord was put on the stand. He starts lying about this and that and when asked about the verbal consent to break lease, he denies ever giving me permission. Anyways, he calls as a witness the owner of the exterminating company, but he didn't treat my apartment, so he couldn't really answer many questions as to if he thought there was a previous infestation before I moved in, the guy who treated my unit quit and wasn't present at court. Anyways, the defense attorney didn't have a great case or set of witnesses but enough to convince the judge that I up and left which is not true. The landlord knew i was suffering tremendously and I had pictures of my bites to prove it. I had a strong case with before and after pictures etc but by this point the judge clearly made his mind up and my case was dismissed. He awarded the landlord all the rent and me nothing. He didn't even look at my evidence. I should have brought mt attorney, we would have won hands down. Anyways, I feel so stupid because I did such a terrible job presenting my case. I had no idea what I was doing and I never called my landlord out for lying. Its been driving me crazy and I feel I should appeal his decision to get a retrial with my defense attorney so all the evidence can be presented correctly. I feel the judge was impartial and didnt give me the chance to explain myself. He cut me off and didnt listen to me. He never even looked at my pictures, in tact he told me they were useless because I didn't date them, but I had the dates, in my phone, on which I took the before and after pics. I am not worried so much about the money, but I feel my landlord was awarded money on his counter claim he didn't deserve because I represented myself very poorly, didn't show all my evidence, and the judge was bias in his decision because of my nervousness and explanation. I could barely talk straight. So question being, should I appeal the decision so I can present my evidence more clearly by a professional? I feel robbed, taken advantage of and his decision was very unfair. I was screwed over twice here. The bed bugs caused me so many problems then my landlord gets to walk away with the money I didn't owe him because he lied. I can prove it and I believe I owe him nothing. Is it worth appealing? I just feel I was pretty much robbed.

 

[quincy]

Ohio - so long story short, do seasonal summer job, signed a 8 month lease from March - Nov 2014. Move in April 2nd. After a week, notice bites all over me and a day later discover there was a bed bug infestation (previous infestation). Called the landlord right away, he wasnt aware of any bed bugs before I moved in so he claims, despite a good amount of droppings on the walls etc. Exterminator was out in 2 days, sprayed, they went away for 3 days but came back again. He comes back two weeks later, sprays and informs me he thinks they lived there previously. I asked around and my neighbor also says he knew of bed bug problems in that unit (tried to get him to come to court but he was in jail at the time I believe) before I moved in, once again, confront my landlord he denies knowing anything. Finally after 4 treatments (3 months, tons of bites and no improvement, I couldn't take it anymore, loss of sleep etc. So I called the landlord and he agrees to break lease and refund deposit. I was told by the exterminator not to dispose my furniture, but I found one crawling on my dresser after the the third treatment and decide to toss 90% of my stuff to prevent them from getting into my families house. Either way, I was very mad, no one wanted me to stay with them so I had to sleep in my car for four days until I was certain they were gone. I decide to file a small claim against my landlord for return of rent and deposit after I signed the lease, verbal agreement to break lease and return deposit (let me add apartment was disgusting, mold, rotten floors etc). I suffered through this for four months and even went to the hospital and didnt present my hospital bill because I was so flustered I forgot about it. Anyways, 4 months later court finally comes. I met with an attorney to organize my case, got text messages, pictures etc together, moving bills, storage fees. So finally I have my date to present my case. Anyways, I was very unprepared for the case. I froze up and become incredibly nervous (do that all the time when put on the spot). I lost track of what I was trying to say, my brother was witness and I didn't know what to ask him, I froze up. I started asking him about the apartment and asked him if we have ever had bb before, he said no, but I also started answering his questions. Judge becomes angry and begins yelling at me to stop answering my questions. I get nervous freak out and have a brain fart. My landlord was well prepared, had an attorney and had a counter claim for breach of contract for 5 reaming months. I was suing for loss of stuff emotional damage etc (aka return of rent and deposit) landlord said he would return it never did, even after sending my demand letter before court to settle. My landlord was put on the stand. He starts lying about this and that and when asked about the verbal consent to break lease, he denies ever giving me permission. Anyways, he calls as a witness the owner of the exterminating company, but he didn't treat my apartment, so he couldn't really answer many questions as to if he thought there was a previous infestation before I moved in, the guy who treated my unit quit and wasn't present at court. Anyways, the defense attorney didn't have a great case or set of witnesses but enough to convince the judge that I up and left which is not true. The landlord knew i was suffering tremendously and I had pictures of my bites to prove it. I had a strong case with before and after pictures etc but by this point the judge clearly made his mind up and my case was dismissed. He awarded the landlord all the rent and me nothing. He didn't even look at my evidence. I should have brought mt attorney, we would have won hands down. Anyways, I feel so stupid because I did such a terrible job presenting my case. I had no idea what I was doing and I never called my landlord out for lying. Its been driving me crazy and I feel I should appeal his decision to get a retrial with my defense attorney so all the evidence can be presented correctly. I feel the judge was impartial and didnt give me the chance to explain myself. He cut me off and didnt listen to me. He never even looked at my pictures, in tact he told me they were useless because I didn't date them, but I had the dates, in my phone, on which I took the before and after pics. I am not worried so much about the money, but I feel my landlord was awarded money on his counter claim he didn't deserve because I represented myself very poorly, didn't show all my evidence, and the judge was bias in his decision because of my nervousness and explanation. I could barely talk straight. So question being, should I appeal the decision so I can present my evidence more clearly by a professional? I feel robbed, taken advantage of and his decision was very unfair. I was screwed over twice here. The bed bugs caused me so many problems then my landlord gets to walk away with the money I didn't owe him because he lied. I can prove it and I believe I owe him nothing. Is it worth appealing? I just feel I was pretty much robbed.

First, and just a minor point: The bolded portion above is not saying what I think you wanted to say. You want a judge to be impartial. I think you meant "biased."

Second, simply not liking the decision of the court is not good grounds for an appeal.

Even when you are representing yourself in court, you are still expected to follow all rules of civil procedure and present your evidence (and yourself) professionally. It doesn't sound like you did this very well. And even under the best of circumstances, when someone is acting pro se it is very very difficult to go up against an experienced attorney in court. I think the odds were stacked against you from the start.

What you needed to prove in court was that the landlord did something that made him legally responsible to you for damages. Bed bugs are tricky because it is not easy to trace their source. And the landlord appears to have met his obligation to you by treating the rental unit when you notified him of the problem.

You also had to prove damages and detail the amount of damages. It doesn't sound like you did this very well. Having an attorney represent you might have made a difference.

With all of that said, you can review the court's decision with an attorney in your area to get a clearer assessment of your case to see if an appeal is something you should consider.

It sounds like the place you rented was a bit of a nightmare. I guess, on the bright side, you can take some comfort in knowing you aren't living there any more.

 

[FlyingRon]

It depends who decided your case. If it was a magistrate, you have 14 days to file objections and a judge will review the case and either affirm it, modify/reverse the judgement, or refer it to a new trial. If you were heard by a judge, then the normal appeals route applies (as Quincy mentioned, this needs to be done on specific legal principles, not just I don't like it or It's so unfair).

 

[chris5014]

I believe it was unfair because the Jude refused to review my evidence. He claimed he couldn't use my pictures because they weren't dates despite having the dates when they were taken logged on my phone and the pictures have a good amount of evidence.

 

[chris5014]

The judge" and he kept cutting me off.

 

[chris5014]

Bottom line I had to suffer the entire time I was living there, problem was never resolved, judge refused to believe that and my landlord got to walk with the money despite promising to return my desosit.

 

[quincy]

The judge" and he kept cutting me off.

If your hearing was before a judge and not a magistrate, you have more time to decide whether to appeal the judge's decision. You should sit down with an attorney in your area and review facts to see if an appeal has any chance of success.

The photos of your bed bug bites, dated or not, can only show that you were bitten by bugs, but the photos do not show where these bed bugs originated. They could have resided (and probably did reside) in the unit before you rented. But they could also have been brought in with your belongings, nesting in your mattress or hiding in your furniture. Your photos do not prove, in other words, that the landlord is at fault for knowingly renting an infested unit.

The photos could have been used to help support your medical bills, in your claim for damages, but you forgot to present to the court your medical expenses.

I am afraid that your other evidence was not convincing, either. You had one witness in jail, the wrong exterminator called to court and your brother is your brother. While nice of your brother to testify, he is not looked at by a court as an impartial witness.

Yes, you probably could have fared far better with an attorney. But doing the woulda, coulda, shoulda's is not all that helpful.

I suggest you take what you have to an attorney in your area for a personal review. I am afraid the review will result in the same conclusions drawn here but maybe the attorney can see something that we can't. Good luck, chris.

 

[chris5014]

Thank you, the exterminator was actually called by the defendant. The guy in jail was a key witness because he knew about a previous untteated infestation.

 

[chris5014]

Untreated""

 

[Proserpina]

I believe it was unfair because the Jude refused to review my evidence. He claimed he couldn't use my pictures because they weren't dates despite having the dates when they were taken logged on my phone and the pictures have a good amount of evidence.

May I be blunt?

You lost this case before you walked into court, I'm afraid.

The landlord acted within a reasonable time to fix the problem.
This doesn't help you:

Anyways, I was very unprepared for the case. I froze up and become incredibly nervous (do that all the time when put on the spot). I lost track of what I was trying to say, my brother was witness and I didn't know what to ask him, I froze up. I started asking him about the apartment and asked him if we have ever had bb before, he said no, but I also started answering his questions. Judge becomes angry and begins yelling at me to stop answering my questions. I get nervous freak out and have a brain fart. My landlord was well prepared, had an attorney and had a counter claim for breach of contract for 5 reaming months.

Your brother was a witness, but you were answering for him. You can't do that.

As has been stated, you can't appeal just because you froze during the hearing. It was, and is, up to you to learn how to present your case correctly; the landlord shouldn't have to come back to court just because you want a second bite at the apple.

Perhaps more importantly though, your chances of reversing the decision are slim at best and an appeal will likely cost more than the amount you were suing for... plus the landlord's legal fees.

 

[chris5014]

Let me add, he never fixed the problem, that is why I moved, but I will agree with you in what you stated and I did contact my attorney and he informed me I was better off just paying it and being on my way.

 

[quincy]

Let me add, he never fixed the problem, that is why I moved, but I will agree with you in what you stated and I did contact my attorney and he informed me I was better off just paying it and being on my way.

I was thinking that any attorney you contacted would advise that. Sorry.

Again, though, at least you are not living there any more. I hope your next residence is a nice one.

 

[chris5014]

I wanted to thank everyone for thier responses. I will not appeal, not worth the time and money. On the bright side, I learned a lot and going solo in court is normally not a good idea. If there are any other infestations atleast I can be witness to any tenants who may encounter the same problem.

 

[Proserpina]

I wanted to thank everyone for thier responses. I will not appeal, not worth the time and money. On the bright side, I learned a lot and going solo in court is normally not a good idea. If there are any other infestations atleast I can be witness to any tenants who may encounter the same problem.

Excellent decision, chris!

(Well, except for that last bit - I wouldn't act as a witness to anything I can't prove or that I've already tried myself and failed, because I'd be seen as having an axe to grind)

 

[quincy]

I wanted to thank everyone for thier responses. I will not appeal, not worth the time and money. On the bright side, I learned a lot and going solo in court is normally not a good idea. If there are any other infestations atleast I can be witness to any tenants who may encounter the same problem.

Representing yourself in court is sometimes okay but you really need to be well-prepared to do so. Some judges have no patience with pro se litigants. And, if you know the other party will have an attorney, it is generally smartest to have one, too. Although I think you might have fared better with an attorney in your case, the result may very well have been the same.

At any rate, I think your decision to move on without trying to appeal the judge's decision is probably a wise choice.

Good luck with future rentals, and thank you for the thanks.