security deposit dispute with landlord- forcing partial refund by certified mail

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

Originally Posted by Teckeeee

After reviewing the site I am glad I am aware of it.............my landlord is over 80, disabled, and since she can't find a repair man for 2-3 weeks I doubt she would have the ability to fill this out and take action. She doesn't even have an answering machine.

Oh man, what a mess. You might be able to do repair and deduct, depending on the type of repairs needed:

California Tenants - California Department of Consumer Affairs

[nagleepark]

Originally Posted by kuppaiforme

Here is an update from suing my landlord. We won the case! We also got additional $1000 in bad faith charges. The judge mailed the judgement after the hearing. Looks like the landlord has 30days to pay us or appeal it in the superior court. So far she hasn't contacted us to give the money. Knowing the landlord, I'm guessing she might appeal. She'll go to any extent to avoid paying us.

Anyone have an experience in dealing with appeals? Thanks in advance!

I'm happy to be wrong and that you won your lawsuit. I hope that you collect your money from the landlord.

Maybe it's just my Small Claims Court that is bad. I had a bad experience and, just listening in on other cases that same day, I was disheartened. Also, my wife's friend also won as a plaintiff in Small Claims and the defendant got a "do over" in Superior Court. I also attended a workshop put on by the Small Claims Court where many victorious plaintiffs complained about having difficulty collecting on judgements. So, as you can see, my Small Claims Court "experience" is uniformly bad but I'm happy that yours isn't.

Even though defendants can get a "do over", maybe they'll be tired and pay anyway. Perhaps a Small Claims Court victory can serve to "wear down" the defendant, even if it's really a "heads you win, tails we tie and do it over" situation. If so, perhaps Small Claims Court has its uses.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

Originally Posted by nagleepark

I'm happy to be wrong and that you won your lawsuit. I hope that you collect your money from the landlord.

Maybe it's just my Small Claims Court that is bad. I had a bad experience and, just listening in on other cases that same day, I was disheartened. Also, my wife's friend also won as a plaintiff in Small Claims and the defendant got a "do over" in Superior Court. I also attended a workshop put on by the Small Claims Court where many victorious plaintiffs complained about having difficulty collecting on judgements. So, as you can see, my Small Claims Court "experience" is uniformly bad but I'm happy that yours isn't.

Even though defendants can get a "do over", maybe they'll be tired and pay anyway. Perhaps a Small Claims Court victory can serve to "wear down" the defendant, even if it's really a "heads you win, tails we tie and do it over" situation. If so, perhaps Small Claims Court has its uses.

Sorry you had such a bad experience. Landlords, as opposed to tenants, are actually easy to collect from. They're easy to find and so is their income. If they don't pay up, the sheriff will actually go collect their rents to pay the judgment.

And winning on appeal is really rare. It would take a judge who's willing to overturn the decision of someone he probably knows well. And judges whose decisions get overturned, lose a lot of face, so I don't think they take their responsibility lightly when it comes to making a good decision based on the law. But, of course, there are bad judges. I just think it's rare that a decision gets overturned.

[kuppaiforme]

Update again. The landlord paid the money and didn't go for an appeal. Thank you so much NoMoreSnowForMe and everyone. Yes, it was very obvious that the LL was blatantly wrong. I had solid proof that she doctored receipts.

Prev tenant and I sued her for $4000 (security deposit deduction) plus bad faith charges. The judge granted us $4000 + $1000 + all the court cost. LL paid everything in full. I was willing to let go of my deduction, but I wanted to teach her a lesson. So if anyone is in the same boat, don't hesitate. Go for it. Small claims court process is very straight forward and not that time consuming. At hearing, the LL wanted to go for mediation. When we started explaining the case to the mediator, he himself suggested we go in front of the judge. I'm guessing he figured the LL was a crook. I'm glad it's finally over. The best part is, this will go in LL's credit report. Thanks again everyone!

[amars]

Congrats kuppaiforme! Good that NoMoreSnowForMe is in this forum :-)

[weevinweaver]

After reading this thread I think I am on the right track.

I rented a run down house which was my first mistake. The LL fixed a few things but said the other things were cosmetic and wouldn't fix them. Long story short I put a lot of money into this house in order for me to feel safe and comfortable.

When I moved out in October 2016 the place was clean and spotless and in wayyy better condition than when I moved in. I sent numerous emails requesting my security deposit back ($1,000) over the past few months...Here it is May 2017 (8 months later) and I still haven't received it. This past weekend I sent a certified letter to them requesting the deposit or will take them to court. I gave them until June 1st. I already printed off all of the court documents and filled them out as I am sure the LL is just ignoring me.
So, a few questions:
When I go to court should I bring up all the work (time and money) I put into the house (painting, plumbing, flooring, yard work, etc.)?
Is there anything I should avoid saying in court? I guess I can just let all the paperwork talk for me
I don't understand how the sheriff will make the LL pay me?