Can I sue in small claims court? (2 cases)?

Question

Okay, here's case number 1.

My and my husband moved out of an apartment after living there for a year on July 31. Before we left we cleaned the whole apartment out, scrubbed down everything, and cleared all the trash and furniture out. But I recently received a letter stating that they wanted 754 dollars for "damages" that included trash and furniture left in the apartment, broken medicine cabinet doors, and stains on the carpet. I'll admit, there WERE stains on the carpet, but if it's a building that allows pets they HAVE to replace the carpet anyway. That's what my friend says, and I shouldn't be responsible for the 841 dollars they say it took to replace the carpet. The full bill was for 1091 dollars, but they spent our security deposit to fix the "damages". Can I sue them for the security deposit, or wait till they sue me and counter sue?

The second case has to deal with my husbands job. He works as an appliance technician and uses a company truck to get to clients houses and fix their appliances. A few months ago he was at a client house in the city when someone broke the window on his company truck and stole the GPS the company had provided for him. We found out his boss has been steadily taking 20 dollars out of his pay check for months, making my husband pay for the damages to the truck and the replacement of the GPS. Everyone I talk to says this isn't legal. Can we sue this guy or what?

Answer 1

In the first case, unless you have photos to substantiate your claim that you left the property in good condition, you are on rather thin ice, as it is the landlords word against yours, and if you took the case to court, there is a good chance that you would lose.

In the second case,you need to establish wether your husband signed any sort of liability cognizance when he started his employment with the company, but even so, he should have been informed by his boss that money was being deducted from his pay, and on that point alone I would seek legal advice, to me it seems a very underhanded way to treat an employee.

Answer 2

I would say both cases hardly sound worth suing, although unfortunate.  I don't understand in the first case if you just lost your security deposit, or if you received a bill in addition to what that covered.  Did you do a walk through or have photos of the condition of the property before and after you left?

On the second case, I would wonder if your husband has signed any contracts regarding materials, equipment, or company property.  Many employers do have employees sign such agreements and do indiciate that they will deduct these things from your paycheck.  I am wondering though why this was not claimed on insurance?  Was it reported to the authorities?

Answer 3

First and foremost, do you have evidence you did not trash the apartment? Its always good to do a walk through before leaving and get the owner or his adent to sign off on it. If that were the case I'd take them to small claims court.

as for the gps and truck thing . . . no way is that legal . . . expect that he will have to find a new job , , , because one way or the other his boss will find a way to terminate him . . . but the way to go about that is to contact the state labor board and report him . . . . you wont get anything back more than what he took from his paycheck, but you will get satisfaction

Answer 4

I'm not a law expert so please be aware:

First case: If there were legitmate damages and things that needed to be fixed or cleaned in the apartment then that is exactly what the security deposit is for and they have a right to use it. However, they should not be asking for additional money. All you are obligated to pay is the security deposit and nothing else. It probably would have been a good idea to take pictures of the clean, empty apartment before you left to prove you left it in good shape. It should be within your rights to recieve a statement of all expenses they supposedly encountered in fixing up the apartment (a complete break down of the charges). Take a look at that and see if they are legitimate. There may be things you missed. If you find that the charges are bogus, I would threaten to sue. They probably would drop the fines to avoid a law suit. Besides, in most states you must inform the other party that you intend to sue anyway before you file. If you do in the end file a civil suit, you can go off the basis that there is no evidence that any of the "damages" were caused by your family and that the charges have no basis. You were under the impression that if there were any damages all you were obligated to pay was the deposit. About the carpet and pets thing, I doubt that they expect to replace the carpet. I assume that they make it the tenents responsibiltiy to keep the carpet clean, so you may be out of luck on that one.

Second case: ILLEGAL GARNISHMENT OF WAGES! Sue, sue, sue! I don't know where you live but I do know that in a lot of states it is highly illegal to withhold wages from an employee without their knowledge. BIG NO NO. Also, typically when a company provides a vehical for its employees they make the employee sign a wavier of some sort. Read that. If there is no mention of the driver's responsibility in the event of damage then you are off the hook and you should get your wages back. Also, it is the employer's responsibility to provide insurance for your husband. Insurance should have paid for the break in and any missing items. NOTE: It is possible that the boss is commiting insurance fraud: he is taking money from insurance and from your husband to cover the same damage. Step 1 is to find out if the company did collect from an insurance company. Either way, there is absolutly no reason why your husband should be held responsible for accidental damage or theft. IT WAS NO HIS FAULT.

I hope this helps and good luck in everything. E-mail me if you have any more questions or anything!