QUESTION
Being sued for property we did not damage
Asked on Jul 23rd, 2014 on Civil Litigation - Minnesota
More details to this question:
A few friends and I rented a cabin last weekend up by Duluth, MN. When we arrived the place looked fine. It wasn't until we decided to move the dining table a bit away from the window (to make more room) that we noticed it shifted apart (it bent in the middle). We noticed the bottom of the table had tape on it as if someone tried fixing it before. We didn't think to report it to the owner right away and just avoided using the table during our stay besides setting some food on it. Upon check out, the owner is adamant that we destroyed his table. We did NOT damage his table, but we also didn't think to call him right away when we discovered the damages either. And because we did not call him about it he thinks we caused the damages and tried to hide it. We didn't take any before/after pictures of the cabin/table. There were no deposits.contracts made to reserve the place. What options do we have to prove our case if he decides to take this to court?
1 ANSWER
You can prove your case through the testimony of yourself and the other people who witnessed the pre-existing damage to the table. Of course, this testimony would be more powerful if you had a disinterested witness, but there is still a good chance that you'll be believed. You could also try to depose previous tenants to ask them if they had noticed the damage when they occupied the cabin, but the likelihood is that either they didn't, or that they will not admit that they did, and the deposition process is (unless this table was extraordinarily valuable some reason) probably more expensive and time consuming than the case is worth.
Answered on Jul 23rd, 2014 at 1:49 PM