Consumer Law, Warranties Landlord Agreement,Judgement, Garishment

[openplease]

I had a business, me and a partner. We closed the business and we owed our landlord rent. When we closed the business we were suppose to get our security deposit back and the flooring that we put in the rental space was suppose to be porated. It never happen, (the flooring part was verbal),we kept calling the landlord asking him to meet with us so we could settle and arrange to make payments to him. He took us to court. The judgement was against my partner and myself. Now I received a garishment summons for the total amount that we both owed. Can he only send the garishment to me. Does'nt it have to be sent the same as the judgement to both. If I am the only one summons for garishment, what happens, does the other partner get out of it. Is it legal to only try to garish me. I only owe half of the total owed to the landlord. What can I do before my court date. Do I have any rights, did the landlord do the court papers correctly. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[army judge]

I had a business, me and a partner. We closed the business and we owed our landlord rent. When we closed the business we were suppose to get our security deposit back and the flooring that we put in the rental space was suppose to be porated. It never happen, (the flooring part was verbal),we kept calling the landlord asking him to meet with us so we could settle and arrange to make payments to him. He took us to court. The judgement was against my partner and myself. Now I received a garishment summons for the total amount that we both owed. Can he only send the garishment to me. Does'nt it have to be sent the same as the judgement to both. If I am the only one summons for garishment, what happens, does the other partner get out of it. Is it legal to only try to garish me. I only owe half of the total owed to the landlord. What can I do before my court date. Do I have any rights, did the landlord do the court papers correctly. Any help would be appreciated.

You were BOTH apparently, jointly and severally liable.
He CAN and DID choose to come ONLY after you.
You, on the other hand, can choose to go after the other party.
You need to subpoena or request that the other party be joined in the suit.

However, he can still choose to go ONLY after you.
You would then, perhaps be ordered to pay the entire amount.
At that time, you could sue the OTHER party and go after HIM for HIS half.

If this is a rather large amount, you might be better served hiring a lawyer to assist you with this.
Why?
Because, you could get stuck with everything, if you make a few wrong turns.
This could eventually be cured, but not without intense effort on your part.
If its a small amount ($5,000 or so), take the hit and pay it.
Make it go away.
Then go after the other person in small claims for his half!

 

[openplease]

What can I do about the security deposit, if he wasn't going to give it back, then it should have been deducted from the total amount owed him. And the verbal agreement, any chance in getting that. Thanks for your infomation.

 

[army judge]

What can I do about the security deposit, if he wasn't going to give it back, then it should have been deducted from the total amount owed him. And the verbal agreement, any chance in getting that. Thanks for your infomation.

The law of property in this country (and many others) does not allow oral agreements for any property matters.

I won't bore you with the legal reasoning as to why oral agreements are meaningless, but they are.

You can try to mention it in court, and the judge MIGHT allow you to make the argument.

Courts of limited jurisdiction (landlord-tenant matters) often allow litigants great latitude in arguing their positions.

So, you can try and see what the judge says.

The security deposit should be returned within 45 days in your state.

You should send your landlord a demand letter, asking for the return of your deposit.

Make sure you get return receipt for the letter, or send it via an overnight service offering proof of delivery.

The Virginia security deposit is held to pay for items damaged beyond reasonable wear and for any late or unpaid bills or fees.

The landlord has 45 days from the end of the lease to inspect the unit, make any qualifying repairs, and return to you the remaining balance plus interest if applicable.
Section 55-248.15:1 of the VRLTA addresses this issue.

A Virginia landlord may not demand or receive a security deposit, however denominated, in an amount or value in excess of two months' periodic rent.
Upon termination of the tenancy, such security deposit, whether it is property or money, plus any accrued interest thereon, held by the landlord as security as hereinafter provided may be applied solely by the landlord (i) to the payment of accrued rent and including the reasonable charges for late payment of rent specified in the rental agreement; (ii) to the payment of the amount of damages which the landlord has suffered by reason of the tenant's noncompliance with § 55-248.16, less reasonable wear and tear; or (iii) to other damages or charges as provided in the rental agreement. The Virginia security deposit, any accrued interest and any deductions, damages and charges shall be itemized by the landlord in a written notice given to the tenant, together with any amount due the tenant within 45 days after termination of the tenancy and delivery of possession.

Preventative Steps to Take to Ensure a Deposit Return
A tenant must meet all of the above conditions to ensure a refund of the deposit, but meeting those conditions is not all the tenant should do.

http://www.rentlaw.com/dep/vadeposit.htm

 

[openplease]

Garnishment Summons

The garnishment summons I received has case number, Judgement Creditor name and in the judgement debtors's name served is my name and in the garnishee's name it has the bank that we had our business account with. So why is my name listed as the debtor and not the company's name.

 

[army judge]

The garnishment summons I received has case number, Judgement Creditor name and in the judgement debtors's name served is my name and in the garnishee's name it has the bank that we had our business account with. So why is my name listed as the debtor and not the company's name.

Was the business incorporated?

Was the business an LLC?

Was the business a legally constituted company?

If the answers are NO, that's why your name is listed.

If one of the answers is YES, you possibly have stumbled upon an affirmative defense!

 

[openplease]

contract, judgements, garishment

We were a partnership, no LLC or Corp.

 

[army judge]

We were a partnership, no LLC or Corp.

What is the amount in dispute?

As a partnership, someone can sue just one of you.

You might also be personally liable.

Then, you'd have to join the other one in the suit.