Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

4 people mentioned here. My childhood friend, Bob, our mutual friend, Tim, and Tim's childhood friend, Jane. Jane's father owned an apartment complex in CA. Tim & Jane had separate apts in the building. The building was supposedly being sold and demo-ed, so Tim moved in with Jane in her apt & Bob moved into Tim's apt.

Bob lost his job several days after moving in. I moved in with Bob to help him out & was only going to stay for one month. I was guilted into staying longer. Originally Bob told me because of the situation with the building sale, there was no lease & he/we would have to move out w/little notice, so there was no deposit required. He later changed his story saying we would be required to pay a deposit.

I reluctantly gave the deposit. I repeatedly requested paper work stating I had given a deposit & the amount..to which Bob always responded "ya, no problem!" I never received that paperwork. I also became suspicious of the amount Bob told me our rent was. I confronted Tim & Jane & they told me there was no deposit required & our rent was less than I was paying half for..Bob had pocketed the money. My discovery did not please Bob. He threatened me w/eviction & leaving my stuff on the lawn & physical violence. this happened July 1st & the rent was due. He told me to pay the rent or get out. After all this I could not possibly stay there. I immediately left & removed all my stuff.

2 weeks prior, I had also given him an advance on rent because he needed some $$. He refuses to return my deposit & $$. I am now wanting to sue him & am trying to figure out the Statute of Limitations. Is this a matter of returning a deposit, or is this a personal loan issue? If it's a loan, what's the SoL & when does it start. I immediately made a written request for my $$ to be returned within 30 days. Does the SoL start from my first request for repayment?

I also plan on suing him for def. of character & harassment for the written physical threats to me & also for communications he's made with my clients & potential clients telling them not to not hire me because of some nonsense he's fabricated. He has also made false claims with the IRS about my tax filings.

So again, what's the SoL in regards to returning my $$? Do I have any rights as far as the rent I was overpaying as a result of Bob lying? What other rights might I have in regards to the defamation and harassment claim, and is there a SoL related that? FYI, I lived in the apt for about 5 months.


Asked on 9/01/10, 11:23 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

Any applicable limitations period would be a matter of years. Other than suing a government entity, there is no limitations period under a year that I know of. A limitations period runs from the breach of the obligation, the date of the harm, or the date a fraud was or could have been discovered. You don't mention specific amounts, but my guess is that it is under $7,500. So you are within Small Claims jurisdiction.

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Answered on 9/06/10, 11:31 am


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