Re: My apartment signed my roommates out without my consent and sent the deposit to the wrong person

McGryver,

Thank you very much. Your reply was very useful and somewhat
comforting. I tried to browse for the Michigan Law regarding this and
I couldn't find it, so thanks for the link. I'm going to decide
whether to hire a lawyer or not, depending on what the fees are. If
you know any useful site(s) for finding lawyers that take tenant/
landlord cases, please let me have it. I've been getting a lot of
useless findings. Thanks.


On Jul 22, 9:27 pm, "McGyver" <Greyp...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> "nkerio" <najike...@gmail.com> wrote in message
>
> news:05b67ab0-233c-4944-a133-7241e0821cc9@m45g2000hsb.googlegroups.com...
>
>
>
>
>
> > Hello,
> > I'd appreciate any help regarding this. It's a little bit of a long
> > story. I'll try to make it as short as I can.
>
> > In April 2005, I had to move out to my old apartment and relocate. I
> > had one month left on the lease with my roommate (let me call him P).
> > To avoid wasting the last month's rent, I found someone (let me call
> > him A) to take over for the last month and pay (maybe my biggest
> > mistake). Mind you, the apartment still had my part of the deposit
> > money + a credit of around $500 (which I won't get into). The
> > apartment rep had told me that the money has to be either paid by A or
> > paid by the apartment to me once they sign out. So as not to get
> > screwed, I left my name on the lease as the rep suggested. So on
> > paper, I was still a roommate but physically I was not.
>
> > One year passed of me trying to hunt down A to no avail. I still
> > thought it would be resolved when they move out anyways, and I would
> > get my money back, so I didn't hurry or panic. To make it a bit
> > messier, the 2 defaulted on paying for one of the months (claiming
> > they thought 2nd month was free), and my credit of $500 was used up.
>
> > The time came when they had to move out in May 2006. Here's where it
> > became really messy. By then I was in touch with the apartment reps,
> > reminding them that most of the money they held and more belonged to
> > me, and that I need to resolve this matter before everyone signs off
> > the lease.  They said "sure, we have to have you approve" . Despite
> > that, they signed the 2 off without notifying me, or getting a
> > signature. I asked about the deposit check. It was send to P, and they
> > claimed that the check showed to be deposited. I called P and he
> > claimed that he attempted to cash the check, but it was sent back to
> > him because 2 of the signatures were missing. I didn't know who to
> > believe. Another 2 years passed with me trying to chase A and P, to
> > face more excuses.
>
> > I'd like to know, first, if I have a good case. It seems to me that I
> > do.
>
> Not bad.  If P is also named on the lease along with you as tenants, the
> landlord should have made out the check to "Nkerio and P" to be safe.  And
> maybe the check bounced.  And maybe they lost the records.  So sue them and
> see what happens.
>
> > Is it too late? I live in Michigan.
>
> The statute of limitations in Michigan is 6 years if the following website
> is correct, and if there is no other statute pertaining to security deposits
> and similar credits and if the lease doesn't say anything to the
contrary..http://www.cardreport.com/laws/statute-of-limitations.html
>
> > Wouldn't it be better to sue
> > the apartments rather than A and P?
>
> Sue them all at once, or sue the ones that you can find and who can be
> easily served.
>
> > Can I sue without a lawyer, and
> > would it be a good idea?
>
> Yes and yes, in small claims court.
>
> > The apartment has a case of gettting sued by
> > a lot of tenants, being as disorganized as they are, so does that
> > record work against them?
>
> Not unless they lost the records in your case.  Otherwise their history is
> not relevant.
>
> > If I hire a lawyer, are my lawyer fees
> > usually reimbursed?
>
> Only if the lease says so.
>
> > Is there a way to notify the apartments of a
> > coming lawsuit in pursuit of a settlement?
>
> There is no good reason to do that.  Just file the lawsuit, get the papers
> served, then go to trial.
>
> This answer must not be relied on as legal advice for the reasons posted
> here:  http://mcgyverdisclaimer.blogspot.com.  And I am not your attorney.
>
> McGyver- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -