So Im getting sued....

[rgramjet]

by my landlord for my cabinet shop rent.  Court date is tomorrow.

Paid rent on time, every time since I took over the space.  Ever since fall of 2007 the roof has leaked.  Three different roofers were called by the property manager over the course of 2008.  Each one came out more than once.  Nine visits total.

Made a New Years resolution....2009 is the year that Rogie doesnt take shit.  Havent paid rent since January.  Needless to say, that got their attention.  New property manager called her roofer to fix my multiple leaks.  Supposedly fixed but un-tested in a real rain.  Drywall and ceiling tiles are "ironically" going to be fixed tomorrow.

I don't want to build out my showroom/display space until the roof is water tight, but how can I effectively sell my very tactile product without them?

Any suggestions?

[Statler]

Any suggestions?

not to be flippant, but yes, get an attorney sooner than the day before court.

Did you put the rent money into a separate account with a letter saying the money was in escrow pending the fixing of their breach of contract concerning the usability of the space by chance?

[rgramjet]

not to be flippant, but yes, get an attorney sooner than the day before court.

Did you put the rent money into a separate account with a letter saying the money was in escrow pending the fixing of their breach of contract concerning the usability of the space by chance?

lol  Noted.

Ive consulted with an attorney as well as a friend thats a commercial realtor.  Im going to wing it.  Sucks that the owner would sooner sue me than have a conversation about what the problem is and how we can resolve it.  Owner is a real estate attorney, should be interesting.

[derby]

Owner is a real estate attorney, should be interesting.

and you knew this going in?

[rgramjet]

I did, should I be scared?

[acalles]

well, before you decided to do this, you should have spoke with a attorney.

they probably would have advised against it, at least any attorney I've ever used would have. 


your only chance is if you have products that were damaged and didn't receive a refund for your loss.

[Statler]

Any suggestions?

oh yeah...don't get legal advice off a motorcycle forum.   

[rgramjet]

I spoke with my attorney.  My lease clearly states that its the landlords responsibility to keep the roof "water tight".  He didnt, he broke the lease.  In this market, the building will stand empty if I leave.  

I paid rent for over a year for an area that could not be used.  The property manager even suggested I request a rent waiver and/or reduced rent.  Guess we will see...

[rgramjet]

oh yeah...don't get legal advice off a motorcycle forum.   

LMAO!!!!

Best suggestion so far!

[Statler]

so....do you have all the back rent in an account you can show the court?   so you can write a check tomorrow for the full amount?

do you have documents showing you have told the owner about the roof and that it impacts your use of the space?

you ducked that question.

[C230drvr]

I did, should I be scared?

very.....

money in escrow or a cashiers check in hand @ court in the absence of a lawyer is your best bet...I'm no lawyer..but my wife is...and she laughed that evil lawyer laugh when I read this to her...I suspect that you are breakfast or lunch for a real estate atty tomorrow...

show willingness to pay...they are going to argue that they made reasonable effort to remedy the situation with receipts in hand...where does that leave you?

if you are VERY LUCKY and you have the funds in hand or evidenced in an account the judge MAY suggest you mediate a solution....which is probably what is going to happen..........worst case you are going to get slammed for the rent ...late and admins fees...as well as atty fees...

check you lease because it SHOULD have an arbitration clause which woul;d render the court date a breach of the contract on the plaintiffs behalf

[superjohn]

I've not had a law class in a very long time, but I always thought it was better to document the lack of repairs and the results, then if you need to have them performed yourself, you deduct that money from your rent, with it all thoroughly documented. Simply withholding rent is generally a bad idea. Walking into court with the money available would be a good thing tomorrow I would think.

[rgramjet]

Nope and yup.

I have notes and invoices that show each time the roofers showed up and what they attempted to repair.  The most poignant invoice I have says he made a "temporary patch" and the "replacement of coping is necessary to stop leaks".  When I spoke with him today, he said he remembered the coping and stated that it is unfixable.  Needs to be replaced.  Invoice was from August 15, 2008.  I went on the roof today and took tons of pictures of the rusty old coping with split, but caulked seams.

Owner was trying to throw as little $$ as possible to maintain the building=slumlord.

[Statler]

and speaking of attorneys fees.....the likely clause that you owe their attorneys fees can hurt.   I have seen some courts not award those for attorneys who represent themselves so if it heads that way it's worth arguing he or she has no attorney expenses since they didn't hire anyone.   better than getting hit for contractual obligation to pay him/her a couple hundred per hour to sue you.

[rgramjet]

very.....

money in escrow or a cashiers check in hand @ court in the absence of a lawyer is your best bet...I'm no lawyer..but my wife is...and she laughed that evil lawyer laugh when I read this to her...I suspect that you are breakfast or lunch for a real estate atty tomorrow...

show willingness to pay...they are going to argue that they made reasonable effort to remedy the situation with receipts in hand...where does that leave you?

if you are VERY LUCKY and you have the funds in hand or evidenced in an account the judge MAY suggest you mediate a solution....which is probably what is going to happen..........worst case you are going to get slammed for the rent ...late and admins fees...as well as atty fees...

check you lease because it SHOULD have an arbitration clause which woul;d render the court date a breach of the contract on the plaintiffs behalf

Im hoping that the judge will see that Im just a working Joe, business has sucked and Im just trying to stand up for whats right.  The way I see it is I paid them for a "whole" space, not 2/3 of a space.  Is over a year not a realistic amount of time to properly fix a roof?