QUESTION
Can you sue a landlord, not mine I am a house owner, if they lease to a known car/residential burglar and you have warned them about acts seen.
Asked on Apr 17th, 2014 on Civil Litigation - Texas
More details to this question:
The landlord has a known burglar living in the house(15yo). Both my vehicle and my wife's vehicle broken in to. Four other cars since the people moved in. He spray painted my neighbors fence, and also stole my bicycle, later found because it was ditched. My wife has had a talk with the landlord and exchanged an email about our family's safety, and she suggested we move elsewhere. The tenants have been at that house for about a year, we have been at our house for six years and nothing happened until they moved in the neighborhood. If there is a previous case I would like to know what it is so I can pass on the information as a "threat" of civil action if no action is done to the tenants.
1 ANSWER
You can sue, because anyone can sue for anything, but on the facrs you allege (which don't appear to me sufficient for you to get a protective order) you will not win and may be sanctioned for a frivolous lawsuit. You don't indicate whether this person has ever been convicted of the crimes of which you accuse him, but even if he had been, and even if he wasn't a minor, you can't prevent him from living in someone else's house with the owner's permission. IF this person actually damages you (for example, steals something in your house) and IF your injury was somehow caused in part or exacerbated by the landlord's negligence (for example, the landlord asks this known burglar to copy the keys to your house), then you might have a valid claim.
Answered on Apr 18th, 2014 at 1:09 PM