What is a judgement?

[argybargy2000]

Some help,

I lived in a place for several years but was never on a lease. Ownership changed while I lived there. At times I fell behind in my rent and never fully made it up. I moved out voluntarily last July and gave notice. The landlord was able to fill the vacancy immediately.

The landlord claims I owe him $8,000 in back rent. I do not believe I owe him this much. Sometimes I paid him in cash, sometimes by check or money order.

he does not have my new address and I do not want to give it to him since he sometimes crosses the line into harrassment.

He is now threatening to 'enter a judgement' on me. What does this mean? And, since I never signed a lease what can I do to prevent this?

 

[sfitz]

A judgment is the court saying that you actually owe 8,000$. The landlord would have to show that you owe some amount of money, but do not hesitate to show up to court, or you may end up owing whatever the landlord says you owe. You will eventually get a summons to appear in court. Do not ignore the summons, or you may end up with a judgment. In some states, most notably Massachusetts, you can even be arrested by the sheriff for "failure to pay", in which case, you will meet with the clerk of the court to work out a payment plan.

 

[Gail_in_Georgia]

Your landlord is saying that unless you pay this amount he believes you owe, he will be filing a lawsuit against you.

What court (Small Claims, Civil, etc.) this will be end up in depends on the state where it is filed. Many of these lawsuits are heard in Small Claims/Magistrates Court (for example, my state of Georgia allows lawsuits of up to $15,000 to be heard in Magistrates Court, our version of Small Claims).

If the judge rules in favor of the landlord, it would be determined that you owe the judgement. If you do not pay (and again, depending on the state), things like your bank account and employment checks can be garnished to satisfy this debt.

What in the world makes you think that just because you did not have a written lease, you can get away with not paying rent?

Gail