Thinking about suing ex-girlfriend.

[CHutto1]

Last November, my girlfriend brought to my attention that her parents wanted her to move back in with them and go back to school. The thing is, that she had to move back asap. I could not afford the rent and bills on the place by myself so, I had no choice but to move back out. Her parents are very controlling so, she obeyed them without thinking of me. We were both on the lease.

Now, I am a little over $3,000 in debt and are thinking of bringing this to small claims court. I cannot rent another apartment or get good financing on an automobile. I had fabulous credit before this. She was already 2 grand in debt when she lived with me. I want this payed for so I can get another place to live by myself.

Does anyone think I have a credible case?

 

[presutin]

If she is on the lease with you, you have a case. If you are on your own on the lease, you have to show to the courts that because of her moving out of the place you guys rented, you got into more debt and you could not find another roommate within a reasonable amount of time to help you pay the bills incurred due to the lease. Hope this helps!

 

[Michael Wechsler]

Presutin is right on! She has resonsibility to pay her share, regardless of what her parents wanted. Before you go to court, you may want to write a courteous but firm demand letter that you expect her to make good on the rent since you both signed a lease. Unfortunately if it doesn't get paid, you will sue for her share. As Presutin said, if the length of time is longer than just a month or two, you need to show that you tried to limit the loss by rerenting to another roomate. Otherwise a court will tell you that you can't just have a windfall - an entire apartment all to yourself without making the effort to "mitigate" your damages.

Best of luck...

 

[seniorjudge]

Is the $3K for rent?