I need help w/ roommate talking about a law suit. ASAP Please!

[annad8]

I live in Pinellas County, Fl. My lease with my roommate just ended yesterday but I moved out 2 weeks ago. I was unable to pay rent due to my hours at work being cut. She paid the rent and I told her I would pay her what I could when I could. I just got paid the other day but do not have anything to give her. She became angry and threatened to take me to small claims court. Can she do that or would it be worth it to her for just less than $500? I plan on paying her but she just gets irrational. My friend told me that she was going to sue her previous roommate who owed her around $2000, but a lawyer told her she wouldn't be able to since both were on the lease and if one bails out then rent is the responsibility of the person living there. Im not usually an irresponsible person, I just fell on hard times. My roommate has made threats to me via text, which I saved. Not sure if that would be of use to me. Thank you for any help!

 

[Gail_in_Georgia]

Yes; your roommate could certainly sue you. And small claims court deals with monetary issues under a certain amount so $500 would fit right in there. And if she won you would be reponsible for court costs.

The point is, you promised you'd pay her at least something but when you got paid, you gave her nothing. It's not unreasonable to assume she would be angry about this and would try to sue you for this money.

It's far better for you to sit down with her and attempt to work out a payment plan of so much per month or week or every two weeks (depending on when you get paid) and then stick with this plan.

Gail