Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Georgia

Whether or not you signed a lease on the apartment has no bearing on the terms of your arrangements with your former roommate. The fact is that you broke your deal with her. I understand your circumstances, but you left her in the lurch and she is stuck paying the bills. The moral thing would be to work out some kind of arrangement and offer to settle the debt.

Legally, I have no idea what a magistrate will do with this and I don't know what kind of an arrangement you had in the months that you lived there. If it was a utility bill, I think you can ask to see the bills and pay for 1/2 of the charges for the services incurred while you lived there if this was for gas, electric or water/sewer. If it was for a phone bill, I would make her pay for her calls and you pay for your calls and divide the basic service costs.

As for rent, again, I don't know the terms of any arrangement. If you truly were a month to month tenant and she had 30 days notice, then I would pay no more than 30 days' back rent. Even where a tenant signs and breaks a lease, the tenant is only liable for 2-3 months rent at most as the landlord has a duty to mitigate damages by finding another tenant. Your ex-roommate is in the same position and has the same obligations.

Do not allow a default judgment to be entered here. Show up at the hearing and argue that you should only be liable for 30 days back rent and a portion of the utility bills for the service incurred while you were there. I don't know how much the suit is for, but if you can pay 50% of the amount, offer that to her. If she accepts, get it in writing and get her to dismiss the suit. If its paid after judgment, then get her to mark the judgment as satisfied. If you cannot afford to settle, save the money until you do have 50% and start there with your offers. Just know that the judgment will get a little bigger as it earns 7% to 12% interest.

And don't make payments unless you get some kind of written agreement with her in which she promises NOT to garnish any wages or levy on bank accounts or other property.

Unemployment compensation is exempt, but your unemployment will not last forever. If you do get a job in Georgia, then your wages can be garnished, so you need to get this resolved.

Bank accounts can be levied on or if you own any property free and clear, it also can be taken.

I don't know if your roommate has an attorney or how likely it is that she knows her options if she does not. Rather than risk it, I think your best bet is to try and get this resolved. Failing that, see what can be worked out with the judge at the hearing.

If she has an attorney, don't handle this on your own. I would try to get counsel to assist you if you can. If you wish to resolve this debt outside of court, I assist clients with that. Please contact me at [email protected] if interested. However, I will not go to court in Georgia. If you need help in court, then contact local counsel.

Easy solution - pay for half of all rent and bills while you were there. You have no excuse for not doing that, regardless of a lease. Further, if you just left with no notice, offer to pay an additional month of rent and utilities. Finally, if you had an agreement with her for a longer term, you conveniently left that out. Take some responsibility to resolve this.

I suspect you already know what a judge probably will do - make you pay half the rent and the utilities. Again, we have not heard all the evidence, but when your own post suggests that result, you need to realize that you can be held to your agreements - verbal or not. Bear in mind this is a guess, and the detailed facts will determine the results.

She can seize your bank accounts if she wins in court, and even many years to come, can seize future wages, accounts, and assets.

You've been sued, and you will automatically lose unless you file a timely response. However you can lose even if you do. You really need to talk to a lawyer and determine what you need to do at this point to settle or resolve the case.