small claims court/ landlord-tenant?
July 3rd, 2011 | 
Author: Hi there,
Can you take someone to small claims court for immediate resolution on small matters, although plan to pursue all the issues later?
I have started to seek out an attorney for a huge, lengthy situation including an illegal eviction with my former landlord…however there are many criminal charges against her for what she did to me mostly, but also several other tenants and this could take a long time.
Meanwhile, although I paid my rent perfectly to the day I moved out, she refused to allow me access to the rest of my belongings (I moved out the day before she was “driving” me out) If I take her to small claims court (under $2,000) for theft (have proof) and having no utilities for periods (when my rent clearly included them), etc… will this affect what my attorney will file later, that suit? in other words, double jeopardy? remember, this is only a civil matter in small claims and later a personal damages (although due mostly to her criminal acts).
Thanks!
Posted in Landlord Tenant Law
In reality, for sure you Can
You really need to consult an attorney on this. This is a forum of lay people who have had many experiences but none of which can give you legal advice which is what you need.
Yes, you can only sue her over this once. You will not be able to divide issues regarding one law suit into multiple hearings. One and one alone.
The thing to remember about small claims is that they cannot or will not order a defendant to do anything other than remit payment for money owed. The money can be owed from loans, damages, any number of things. But the important part is that you have to;
1. Justify to the court how you are out of pocket due to wrongdoing on the part of the defendant. Having done that you must;
2. Prove to the court your out of pocket costs.
Considering that, how does that affect your small claims case? What did the landlord do to you that caused you to have to spend money, of which you have proof of payment for? That’s what the small claims is going to hear.
The question about multiple filings may have a couple of different answers.
You can sue over the same thing twice provided that the complaint raised is different in each court, and you are not paid twice for the exact same thing. You see, many times where there is wrongdoing in a tenant-landlord relationship, there are many problems that come up. In many cases, one court doesn’t have the authority or jurisdiction to hear all of your complaints regarding the issue. This is the instance where you use other courts to hear your complaints that another court wouldn’t.
You must also disclose any pending and previous lawsuits against the defendant. This helps the court to determine which aspect of your complaint they will hear, and those issues which are invalid or have been or are to be addressed by another court.
Your attorney needs to be in the driver seat on this one. Ask him/her these same questions.