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31 emails since last Thursday (even though she has been repeatedly instructed not to contact me) begging us not to take her to court. "let's call it even" "this is just more harassment" "taking advantage of a single mother" "I'm not your solution to her money problems"
^^^ This. Apparently she's never had to suffer the consequences of her actions.
One more day. I wonder if she'll show up in court. I'm leaning toward yes so she can tell the judge her version of the facts.
I think she will and I think she'll try to go for a continuance. Drag it out. She's not as totally insane as I think she's working to portray. I believe she's a lot more knowledgeable about the system and how to game it.
31 emails since last Thursday (even though she has been repeatedly instructed not to contact me) begging us not to take her to court. "let's call it even" "this is just more harassment" "taking advantage of a single mother" "I'm not your solution to her money problems"
Wow...In my state, the first contact after a protection order would be a misdemeanor and every one after that is a felony. Seriously! Your attorney needs to turn those emails into the prosecutor...this case needs to be prosecuted in the criminal courts, not just civil.
Well, the only justice in the halls of justice....is in the halls. We went in asking for 100% of back-rent and we got to speak first in front of the mediator. My attorney went right at it, calling her a 'professional tenant' and has done this kind of thing before. She went right out of the gate telling of the omitted prior tenancy which ended with a summary process (Massachusetts-speak for eviction) and telling of all the made-up issues that were the foundation of the rent withholding, her accusations of my attempted arson, attempted murder, theft, assault and battery, harassment of my tradespeople, barring me from the property until I passed a drug test, her 'lost husband due to illness' (which means I've come to learn, "he's still, alive but I divorced him when he got sick, I mean who needs that?") and the myriad of other issues...but only to be interrupted repeatedly by the defendant. "Just WHAT IS the PROCESS here!" she whined. The mediator said that the plaintiff and their attorney get to speak first then you as the defendant, get to reply in your defense. "OH WELL THAT IS NOT FAIR! My landlord is the one who needs to defend against his harassing actions against ME! Including forcing me to come here today!" The mediator shot back - "Well Ms. Mccaustic, I've been doing this for 20 years and we're not going to change the legal process to satisfy your notions of justice." and we went on to explain our side, only to be repeatedly interrupted by the defendant so the mediator in her wisdom said "Well, dear, if you so insist on speaking out of turn, why don't we just let you talk now so we aren't rudely interrupted while the plaintiff is speaking (clearly annoyed)?" So instead of saying "oh, sorry I'll pipe down" She starts talking.
McCaustic then relates to her the 'major gas leak' which was repaired by a licensed plumber, which was isolated at the stove and not needing a permit. "He had pipes running underneath the floorboard connecting to...THE STOVE!!! and he knew they leaked but rented to me anyway!!!" The mediator said 'Ma'am, it's normal for pipes to run under the floor and if your landlord called a plumber and it was repaired in a matter of an hour or two, that's normal and that's what a landlord should do - respond to your calls'" Of course now - of course - my ex-tenant is appalled by this. "You call that NORMAL? Gas pipes LEAKING??? Normal having NO PERMIT to repair a gas line ?!?!? I think you are biased in favor of my landlord, by calling this problem "Normal" !!! Can we get a different mediator?"
And it went downhill from there, with the mediator and Ms. McCaustic going at it for a minute or two when finally the mediator smacked her hand on the desk and said "OK, Ms. McCaustic, I have heard enough from you for now...please excuse yourself to the room across the hall and I will need to speak to the plaintiff and his counsel." Well, she did not go quietly - she objected to "the format of this hearing being designed to intimidate the defendants" but did leave.
The mediator then leaned in and whispered to my attorney and me: "She's crazy"
Then we got down to business.
What did we want - 100% of the back-rent. We were asked if we can get 50%, would you take it? If we could get 40% would you take it? We pondered - we could go to trial and ask for 100% plus attorney's fees and we'd burn her at the stake (hint hint - Witch Trials) with at least 7 - 8 witnesses who would corroborate my version AKA 'the truth' HOWEVER
my attorney's fees would triple and there's no guarantee what a jury would do - and it would take several weeks to impanel a jury for housing court....and if we won (we would) she'd likely appeal (she would) and then it would force the case into the appeals system which is a morass of bureaucratic BS.....and yet more delays. She'd opt for any continuance she could and it would go on and on. I wanted this over and so did she.
So we opted for a compromise. I got half the back-rent and both parties dropped all present and future claims. The check cleared, I paid my attorney and I hope for better luck next time. We signed a court-enforceable agreement not to contact each other for ANY reason going forward.
So glad this is behind me now. And I hope you all had plenty of popcorn.
Great update. Got what you wanted really, she is outta there and it's not a total loss.
She has probably been through this before; she is nuts but somewhere under her paranoia and delusions she knows this constant drama is working to her financial advantage.
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