QUESTION

Do I have a case against my former landlords?

Asked on Aug 21st, 2013 on Landlord and Tenant Law - Nevada
More details to this question:
December 2012 my family and I moved into a privately owned condo. Within hours of us moving in we started having problems. The downstairs bathroom was completely unusable. My landlord sent a plumber by to check it and he told us under no circumstance should we use it and if we did it flood the entire downstairs. So he called our landlord while standing in our living and advised of the problem he told him to leave and they would have a family friend fix it. A month pass and after many calls and many messages no response and us a family of 6 was reduced to 1 bathroom. Then we started having problems with the stove, dishwasher, sliding door and water heater. I wrote my landlord and advised her of the problem and she called and said they would send someone out. She did and he fixed absolutely nothing. Everything remained in the exact same condition. So I wrote her a 2nd letter advising her that we wanted out of lease and needed to move and we couldn't take it any longer. I advised her that we had an appointment with an organization so we could get out of the lease and report her for being a slumlord. She begged me not to and said she would let us out of lease all she asked that we clean the condo after moving out and pay a partial payment. We agreed and then 2 months later my husband is hit with a garnishment on his check. After speaking with his job it was a company we have never heard after a little research we discovered it was them. She had sent a certified letter to her condo knowing we no longer lived there and she had rented it to new tenants. We left a forwarding address as well. I still have all documents and videos proving my side.
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2 ANSWERS

Litigation Attorney serving Bakersfield, CA at Dessy & Dessy
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A certified letter will not result in a judgment that is needed to garnish wages. There had to have been a lawsuit filed and then a judgment issued. If you were not served with a lawsuit, that would be a basis to make a motion to vacate the judgment and permit you to oppose the lawsuit on its merits. If you successfully opposed the lawsuit, then you would have a right to file a malicious prosecution action against the landlord. You may wish to contact a legal aid office, to determine whether you are eligible for free legal assistance On the motion to vacate the judgment and defend. Legal it is unlikely to assist you for malicious prosecution action, should the court rule in your favor on the first lawsuit.
Answered on Aug 22nd, 2013 at 12:11 PM

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Under those facts, it sound like the landlord got a judgment against you and your husband without your knowledge. You need to file a motion to overturn the default judgment and file a counterclaim.
Answered on Aug 22nd, 2013 at 10:56 AM

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