Question about serving plaintiff for small claims court

Status
Not open for further replies.

dsim

New Member
Hi,

I am needing some help. I am currently attempting to sue my former landlord for failure to repair a mold problem. Basically, I went thru the proper channels to make sure that all repair requests were documented and the landlord canceled the lease instead of repairing the problem. I currently have a law suit filed, but my problem is this.... he lives out of the country. The only addresses I have for him is a PO box, and he has his Domestic Limited Partnership listed with the State of Texas, but the address is a house he rents out. I attempted to have the suit served to his local contact (which is listed in the lease), but it still has not been served (filed on 1/4/07). I can have the state serve him where he lives, but I have no address for him in his foreign living space. I was wondering if I could have his lawyer served with the paperwork. I have heard that he may not sign for it, in which case I would be back to where I am now.

What options are available to me? I am sitting here, out about $4500 on the verge of losing everything.... please help.

Thanks for all help in advance,
David
 
You are the plaintiff; he is the defendant.

You do not make it clear if the landlord is an individual or whether it is a limited partnership.

In any event, consult the local procedural rules on how to get him served.

But if you do get him served and win the case, how will you collect?
 
Sorry, it was a long day yesterday. I meant serving the defendant.

On my lease, it says the contract is between Xx Xxxx LTD., where the individual is the agent. But the individual is listed as the President, and the registered agent for his LP. However, at the time of the contract, his limited partnership had been invoulntarily cancelled by the State for not filing the periodic report. Does that have a bearing on things?

I am not sure how I am going to collect. My main purpose right now is to get a judgement against him. Once that bridge comes, I will look at filing a lein on one of his properties (if that is even possible).

This is all over his liability to me for not fixing a repair that I requested to be fixed (mold).
 
1. In general, the easiest way to handle these matters is to "abate" the amount or deduct it from the rent you pay. Don't wait until the lease is over.

2. If you are in small claims court, the defendant MUST be located in the county of the court (at least for many small claims courts). Ask the small claims clerk the best way to handle this.

3. Find out whom the property is owned by - the department handling this is usually in the vicinity of the other courthouses. You may want to sue him personally and have the state handle service. As long as it doesn't get rejected, you can always show up to court and let the shady landlord default and have to reopen a judgment if he wants to go through the trouble.

4. You still have the challenge of enforcement even if you win. I hope this is worth it. At the very worst, you may be able to put a lien on his property. That should get the landlord's attention. All of this is a lot of time and effort. If it's for $80 you may want to evaluate your time.

Good luck.
 
1. In general, the easiest way to handle these matters is to "abate" the amount or deduct it from the rent you pay. Don't wait until the lease is over.

2. If you are in small claims court, the defendant MUST be located in the county of the court (at least for many small claims courts). Ask the small claims clerk the best way to handle this.

3. Find out whom the property is owned by - the department handling this is usually in the vicinity of the other courthouses. You may want to sue him personally and have the state handle service. As long as it doesn't get rejected, you can always show up to court and let the shady landlord default and have to reopen a judgment if he wants to go through the trouble.

4. You still have the challenge of enforcement even if you win. I hope this is worth it. At the very worst, you may be able to put a lien on his property. That should get the landlord's attention. All of this is a lot of time and effort. If it's for $80 you may want to evaluate your time.

Good luck.


Actually, this guy is my ex-landlord. Instead of repairing the property (which he is currently paying someone that is on Social Security disability to do.....), he canceled the lease and told me that I was free to move. So what I am suing for is my actual damages plus civil penalties... so we are looking at about $4500 here. I have about 30 e-mails, to and from, that have promises to pay for things (I forked out the $600 for the mold inspector to come out) at the end of the month, and then another email stating that he would not pay me anything until I was out of the house. I also paid a full months rent for the final month, and moved out on the 22nd.... so there is also 8 days of rent he owes me. Well, I was out of the house 4 months ago and I have not heard from him.

I attempted to have the local contact listed on the lease (Handwritten, "For Local Contact and Services..."), but the constables office told me yesterday that it was an invalid address. He does have a local attorney, and I was thinking that I would go in next week and have his lawyer served instead. Would he (his lawyer) be legally bound to sign for the papers? Also, the individual is listed by the appraisal district as the owner of the house.
 
Have you tried to locate him by searching Zabasearch.com? We've had much luck locating our debtor-on-the-run by using this site....it has the most accurate info we've seen.
Good luck!
 
The only thing about that site is that it is only US. I have addresses for him in the US, I need the one for him in Costa Rica.


My petition came back for an invalid address.... the one listed on my lease for local contact.

So back to one of my original questions... can I have the papers served to his attorney????
 
Last edited:
Q: So back to one of my original questions... can I have the papers served to his attorney?

A: Yes, IF (and that is a huge word) his lawyer has entered his appearance in the case. Also, call the lawyer and ask if the lawyer will accept service. Otherwise, serve the landlord by publication.
 
Q: So back to one of my original questions... can I have the papers served to his attorney?

A: Yes, IF (and that is a huge word) his lawyer has entered his appearance in the case. Also, call the lawyer and ask if the lawyer will accept service. Otherwise, serve the landlord by publication.

I do know that my landlord contacted him during this matter, like when there was a question if my landlord could legally repair the mold himself, or if he had to hire someone to do it. My landlord admitted that he had to pay the guy for his service, and I have a copy of an email from his attorney to him about the matter. Would that count as entering his appearance.

And I did call his attorney, I asked him if I could send the papers to him... his response, "Im not giving you ANY legal advice." And then he hung up on me.
 
Last edited:
Q: Would that count as entering his appearance.

A: The only thing that counts as entering his appearance is entering his appearance.


Q: And I did call his attorney, I asked him if I could send the papers to him... his response, "Im not giving you ANY legal advice." And then he hung up on me.

A: That settles that!
 
Q: And I did call his attorney, I asked him if I could send the papers to him... his response, "Im not giving you ANY legal advice." And then he hung up on me.

A: That settles that!

SO, err, uhhh.....what does that settle? Sorry, but I dont understand that response. Unless you mean that it would be feesable to send the papers to his lawyer.
 
SO, err, uhhh.....what does that settle? Sorry, but I dont understand that response. Unless you mean that it would be feesable to send the papers to his lawyer.

Obviously, you will not be serving the defendant, nor his lawyer.

Go for service by publication.
 
Sorry to sound so ignorant, but what is service by publication? When I file, I have to have it served to someone, at an address. So what would I enter in those fields when I file the paperwork?
 
Sorry to sound so ignorant, but what is service by publication? When I file, I have to have it served to someone, at an address. So what would I enter in those fields when I file the paperwork?

Service by publication means publishing notice of the lawsuit in a newspaper (for example).

Read the local rules and state statutes regarding this kind of service. (Go to a library to do your research or Google or ask your state bar association for pamphlets on using small claims.)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top