id10twithlaw
Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? North Carolina
In March of 2009, I got into a retail space after meeting the landlord and building a quick friendship with him. He rented the space to me with a deposit and let me have about 2 months free get the place ready before we opened. We NEVER signed a lease. He told me he wasnt worried about it. We opened our business and it did okay, but it was obvious it was not going to be a success. I got behind on the rent, and he told me, just pay it when you can. I got two months behind, and still he was very relaxed and not worried, and just said pay it when you can. Then he got in a bad motorcycled accident and I could not talk to him for a while. We closed in September but didnt have anywhere to put our stuff. When I did finally reach him, I went and visited him in the hospital, and I told him we needed to move out, it wasnt going to work. I said I still owe you rent. He said No, you are not going anywhere. You guys hang in there, and it might still pick up next season. So I sat on the space, not in business for like 2.5 months. Then I tried calling him multiple times and could never reach him. So I decided to start repairing computers in the space. I put up a new sign and all. I had mentioned to him about this idea before and he supported it. Finally he was out of the hospital and has been very cordial and we have remained friends, at least I thought. I finally told him, I am moving out, that I cant pay him the rent and he still said dont worry about things. Just get yourself back on track. Then 1 week later out of the blue he filed a claim against me for small claims court for $3000 which for back rent. However, the total he submitted on the claim is not actually what we verbally agreed on for the rent. When I called him, he said since I didnt pay, it went up. I was so shocked. Anyway, can I plead Statute of Frauds since we never had a written agreement and since he verbally told me many times not to worry about the money. I tried to get out, and when he didnt seem to care I wasnt paying, I didnt push the issue to get my stuff out. Please give me some advice on this. I feel I should pay him just because I am a decent human being, but since he has basically been smiling to my face and then being a coward and doing this, I feel like fighting it. I dont have the money and am in the process of going through a personal bankruptcy as well. We have retained an atty and will be filing this month. Regardless of what is ethical, please advise on what the law says about this. Thank you so much.What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
In March of 2009, I got into a retail space after meeting the landlord and building a quick friendship with him. He rented the space to me with a deposit and let me have about 2 months free get the place ready before we opened. We NEVER signed a lease. He told me he wasnt worried about it. We opened our business and it did okay, but it was obvious it was not going to be a success. I got behind on the rent, and he told me, just pay it when you can. I got two months behind, and still he was very relaxed and not worried, and just said pay it when you can. Then he got in a bad motorcycled accident and I could not talk to him for a while. We closed in September but didnt have anywhere to put our stuff. When I did finally reach him, I went and visited him in the hospital, and I told him we needed to move out, it wasnt going to work. I said I still owe you rent. He said No, you are not going anywhere. You guys hang in there, and it might still pick up next season. So I sat on the space, not in business for like 2.5 months. Then I tried calling him multiple times and could never reach him. So I decided to start repairing computers in the space. I put up a new sign and all. I had mentioned to him about this idea before and he supported it. Finally he was out of the hospital and has been very cordial and we have remained friends, at least I thought. I finally told him, I am moving out, that I cant pay him the rent and he still said dont worry about things. Just get yourself back on track. Then 1 week later out of the blue he filed a claim against me for small claims court for $3000 which for back rent. However, the total he submitted on the claim is not actually what we verbally agreed on for the rent. When I called him, he said since I didnt pay, it went up. I was so shocked. Anyway, can I plead Statute of Frauds since we never had a written agreement and since he verbally told me many times not to worry about the money. I tried to get out, and when he didnt seem to care I wasnt paying, I didnt push the issue to get my stuff out. Please give me some advice on this. I feel I should pay him just because I am a decent human being, but since he has basically been smiling to my face and then being a coward and doing this, I feel like fighting it. I dont have the money and am in the process of going through a personal bankruptcy as well. We have retained an atty and will be filing this month. Regardless of what is ethical, please advise on what the law says about this. Thank you so much.What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?