Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

The first problem is the practical matter of whether these renters have any spare money or assets that you could go after if you did get a judgment from them. Probably not, so a judgment is of no value to you. You could call them up and yell and scream,, within reason, to get rid of some of your frustration; you might, if done carefully, contaact the current landllord to tell them to be careful that the same does not happen to them.

I would think that some of these bills were items you should have known about and just ignored in the hope that the utility/business had forgotten to bill you. What mail would you receive there that you did not know you were going to get? Were you at fault in not changing the mailing address to your current one; was there anything preventing you from doing so?

You can try to argue to the billing entities that it wa your renters' fault, but they probably will dis-believe that. They might be nice and reduce your bills somewhat.

Never rely upon any one else to get your important mail. I remember when I left my job as an attorney with the City of Oakland, even though I did not change residence addresses, they never forwarded any personal mail to me. That is life.