Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California
Ex-Roommate refuses to pay past phone bill
I lived with a roommate from July 2001-2002. I had all utilities and the phone bill in my name. My roommate was rarely at the apartment and hard to reach. When I moved out in June 2002 he said we wanted to keep the apartment (we communicated via email only). I left him numerous messages about the DWP, Gas, and Phone Bill needing to be changed to his name or cancelled. He never responded. Then, in October 2002 I received an overdue phone bill that was still in my name. I contacted him numerous times but he never responded. The bill has now been sent to a collection agency. My name was removed from the lease in July 2002. The phone bill is from July 2002- December 2002, long after I moved out. I have since paid the bill to remove my name from the collection agency. I would like to take legal action to get what I paid ($124) for the phone bill since I was not living there. I have records that show I moved out in July 2002 and paid the last phone bill on July 17, 2002. Who is responsible for the bill? How would the judge side with in this matter?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Ex-Roommate refuses to pay past phone bill
Your roommate should be responsible for reimbursing you for the telephone bill, as well as any other utility bills incurred during the period of time after you vacated the premises.
It sounds like you will need to file a small claims court lawsuit against your roommate. To do so, visit the courthouse closest to where the apartment was located, and ask the small claims court clerk for the appropriate documents to fill out.
As to your question about how the "judge would side on this matter," that is impossible to determine. While you appear to have a solid foundation for your lawsuit, judges are people too, and predicting what any particular judge might do in any given set of circumstances is next to impossible, at least without knowing what judge will be assigned to your case.
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