Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

Re: Can I be sued for time

This guy exposes himself to California courts by renting this house. I do not believe he can collect such costs and/or expenses under the law, however, even if he can, if your claim is "reasonable" the court will likely not allow it.

Re: Can I be sued for time

The general rule in California is that a lawyer who represents himself in court cannot recover attorney fees for the time he devotes to his own case. If your landlord represents himself, you should be safe from such a claim.

Most rental agreements contain attorney fee clauses, which require the losing party to reimburse the prevailing party for its fees. A lawyer representing himself does not incur any fees, so you probably would not have to pay unless he hires a different lawyer to represent him. However, your particular contract may be written in a way that permits him to recover for his own work; after all, if he drafted the agreement this is a type of situation he might have anticipated and planned for.

Re: Can I be sued for time

The simple answer is no, although your rental agreement might provide for attorney's fees to enforce the agreement. You're not enforcing the agreement, however; you're trying to get back what you believe is rightly yours. I would suspect that a court would not make you pay for his time -- especially as attorney's fees. It's lucky you're out of there!

Re: Can I be sued for time

If there is an attorneys fee provision in the contract and the court determined that he did not owe you any more money, you might have to pay the other side's attorney's fee. (But if the owner is representing himself, he will not be able to collect money for his own time, even though he is representing himself.) If you are represented by an attorney, and there is an attorney's fee provision in the rental agreement, you may also be able to recover your lawyer's attorney's fee. You may also have other rights against the landlord depending on the facts and your location. Good luck.