"Never sue on principal," was advice given to me by one of the big-time attorneys at Arizona Public Service during my tenure there a zillion years ago.
There are some battles just not worth fighting. Mrs. Martin might just be one of those. The woman is a single mother of four, trying to get by. She wants to do right by her family. She has been known to work two jobs. In the three years she rented from me, I watched her life change to her ultimate decision, move out because I was kicking out.
When she left, the home was clean(ish). The next door neighbors say Mrs. Martin was quiet. Didn't keep pets and didn't have scary people coming in and out at all times of the day. Essentially, she was a decent tenant with financial troubles.
However, she got a couple of breaks from me. Because Marty and I owned this property without investment partners, we were in a position to be more lenient. I don't regret those decisions. But, as my ever-brilliant cyber-friend Lori once mentioned, "you can't bank good will."
The fact is, she owes me two month's rent. Though Legal Eagle did this one at a discount, Mrs. Martin owes me the legal fees for her eviction. If I have to go to court, I can ask her for the court-related legal fees too (which will be pre-paid by me and won't be discounted). And, because my lease says so, one can argue she owes me for the rent from the day she vacated to the day I get this house rented. She also owes me for the 17 cans of Kiltz because Dracula red was not on the tenant-approved kitchen color list.
But, how far can this go? If I go to court next month, I will win. I know this. And, presumably she is smart enough to know this too. I can garnish her wages. But, she is eeking by as it is. I personally think she is one huge finaical judgement away from bankruptcy. And, a garnishment from me would probably put her into bankruptcy. Or, she can just quit her job. With either of those scenarios I get nothing but a hollow victory.
Legal Eagle is trying to settle this out of court, with the hopes that I can see some return. Because if I have to go to court, I will win. But at what cost?
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
i have been in this same situation and i agree with you (in principle - ha) but ...
i have been taken advantage of by someone who then turned around and took advantage of someone else in the exact same way.
if she gets away with this, she'll know she can get away with it again.
in a way, i feel like when one of us puts our foot down, we're putting it down for the whole group.
if she hadn't insisted she owed you nothing, i would feel more lenient. it's the denial that rankles. (but i guess that's suing on principle ... and that does come across as a sound rule.)
Sue her.
Sue her, unless the legal fees are more than you want to put upfront.
It is not principle, it is just business.
Post a Comment