Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California
Rights after giving notice to move out
My roommate gave me three weeks notice to move out on a Saturday. He found a cheaper, more convenient place. I accepted his notice and found a new roommate to move in the day after he was going to move out. My roommate went away for the weekend, and when I called his cell number on Sunday, the day after he was supposed to move out, he said he was delayed and would be back on Monday. I accepted this thinking I could let the new roommate move in Monday night. Monday and Tuesday came and went; I called and left several voicemail messages; No response. Finally at 8PM on Tuesday, I packed his stuff and put it into the garage. He finally showed up late Tuesday night. He was insulted and upset and wants to sue me. Does he have any legal leg to stand on? Unfortunately everything was verbal. I didn�t know what else to do.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Rights after giving notice to move out
Being insulted and upset are not grounds for recovering money damages. Your former roommate could, of course, file a suit in small claims court and force you to make a defense, which would be a hassle for you, but unless there is more to the charges and claims, the roommate is very unlikely to get a judgment.
True, everything should have been in writing, but if the judge believes your testimony it should not affect the result.
Even though your handling of the matter seems to have been reasonable, you should say the right soothing words and negotiate your differences in order to minimize the chance of having to defend a lawsuit, however baseless it might be.
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