im being sued and i dont have money for a lawyer. i moved into an apartment and i tried signing the lease many times. the person i was subleasing from was a girl from school. well her landlord (company) found out i was living there illeagally and i had to leave. well now she is sueing me for her getting evicted and me not paying that months rent. her landlord wouldnt take it because i was living there illeagally. what do i do? i never signed a lease.
2006-12-28 14:00:26 · 10 answers · asked by jenks1545 4 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
You have no liability in this situation. You entered into an agreement with "Girl." You had no idea (I assume) that she was not allowed to sublet the apartment. It is not your responsibility to know the fine print of her lease - your agreement was with HER, not with her landlord. It was her responsibility to know the terms of her lease and to abide by them. She did not do that. It is her own fault that she was evicted. Contact the bar association in the state where you live (you can search on Yahoo! for "California State Bar Association," substituting your state, of course). Tell them that you need a referral to an attorney who can provide you with a free consultation in a landlord/tenant issue. You likely will not need further legal advice beyond that. Good luck to you.
2006-12-28 14:10:14 · answer #1 · answered by Vicki D 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Was this girl you subleased from on the lease? If she was, I don't believe the landlord had any right to evict you, unless there is a clause in the original lease forbidding sublease. If this clause does exist, you are not responsible for rent as the girl you subleased from violated her original agreement with the landlord. You need to get a copy of the original lease and see what it says about subleasing or allowing people who are not on the least to live there. There is something that doesn't sound right about this whole situation. I would definitely try to consult a lawyer.
2006-12-28 22:11:24 · answer #2 · answered by msi_cord 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It depends on exactly how you've been sued and for how much. If you're being haled into small claims court, no lawyer is needed, because the parties represent themselves in such forums. Legal counsel generally costs several times the amount in controversy in such courts.
With exactly what have you been charged? That's going to make all the difference here.
My first impression is that this looks like a contracts problem. The landlord apparently doesn't allow sub-leasing, and accepting your money would have been accepting your residence there, so he was right to reject it. But the girl you attempted to sub-lease from is probably out of luck. She attempted to do something she was contractually prohibited from doing and is now attempting to have the courts enforce that. Judges don't like this kind of thing.
Feel free to drop me a message if you want to go into more detail.
2006-12-28 22:14:58 · answer #3 · answered by Ryan D 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
She's being punished because she sought to have you enter a contract that she couldn't make. She's the one who breached her contract, not you. The landlord doesn't have to take rent money from someone other than the person on the lease, and doing so could constitute a waiver, making you a sublessor.
You might see if courts where you're occupied have a low-cost (or no cost) legal assistance for civil matters. In this case you can't get a court-appointed lawyer; those are only for criminal cases.
2006-12-28 23:12:15 · answer #4 · answered by question_ahoy 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It would seem to me she doesn't have a leg to stand on because she was in violation of her lease by subletting the place to you. You said the landlord wouldn't accept the rent because you were there illegally. If you go to court it proably will be to small claims and you really don't t need a lawyer. she has to prove her case and all you can do is to tell the truth. If anyone was there to witness anything between the two of you take them as witnesses. God luck with your case.
2006-12-28 22:23:22 · answer #5 · answered by regina g 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't think she has a case, however it would be wise to consult an attorney. There are many lawyers who advertise free consultation. Look in the yellow pages.
2006-12-28 22:11:21 · answer #6 · answered by mstrywmn 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Try the sites below. On the 1st site, change the state in which you live. The last site is a very affordable way to obtain an Attorney/Law Firm in your state. If you like what you see, please contact me.
Thanks,
JD
2006-12-28 23:00:39 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would see if you could get a free consult from a lawyer and see what they have to say about your situation.
2006-12-28 22:11:07 · answer #8 · answered by cwo4wife 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
TAKE IT TO JUDGE JUDY
SOUNDS LIKE TO ME THEY WONT BE ABLE TO TOUCH YOU
2006-12-28 22:20:39 · answer #9 · answered by 3cents 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
"If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be appointed to you by a court of law"
TT
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2006-12-28 22:10:56 · answer #10 · answered by The Platinum Mage 2 · 0⤊ 6⤋