Landlord filed lawsuit for damages caused by fire

[pinkpanda]

My friend lives in a rent control apartment. There was a fire in her apartment when she was not home and the fire marshall report says it was due to "electric wiring and combutsible materials in kitchen area". The landlord was trying to increase her rent to recover the money that they spent on fixing the apartment. However, the DHCR denied the request and now the landlord filed a lawsuit to recover the deductible ($25,000) that they've paid to their insurance. My friend didn't do any illegal rewiring in the apartment. What are the chances that the lawsuit will get dismissed (or if it does go to trial, what is my friend's chance of winning?)? Would it make sense for my friend to file a counter-claim for her damages since she lost everything in the apartment? Needless to say, the landlord is trying to drive her out of the apartment since it's rent controlled. They've been harrassing her since the day of the fire. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Gail_in_Georgia]

Unless either party is responsible for the actual fire, both lawsuits won't go very far. Sounds like while your friend wasn't responsible for the fire, they also didn't have renters insurance which would have covered their losses.

Gail

 

[pinkpanda]

Thanks. So probably she would need to retain an attorney to take care of the court filings/hearings, right?

 

[Gail_in_Georgia]

Yes, considering the amount of money involved in the lawsuit.

Gail