Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Georgia

My spouse failed to pay his alimony. I did not want my landlord to be forced into the eviction process because of me, so I voluntarily left my apartment. We had no formal lease and I paid her monthly. My rent was due on the 5th of the month so I gave her a written release for my $100.00 deposit and added $10.00 and agreed to vacate the apartment on the 10th. This gave me 5 days to find a job and another place to live. I am well aware that I could have took my time and have her go thru 'due proccess' for me to surrender the apartment, but I wanted to do the right thing and allow her to begin collecting rent monies from another tenant as soon as I could. I found another place and a job, but had one last load of property to pick up from the apartment on the 12th of the month. I text her and stated I would be off work at noon that day and for her to call me if it was possible for me to come pick up my property. I drove 30 miles to do this but she never called so I could not pick up my property. I am now 2 days into overdue rent monies. She did not correspond with me again until the 16th of the month and demanded that I have my remaining property removed by 5pm that day. Which I could not do due to working until 6pm at a distance of 30 miles away. I texted her on the 18th of the month and told her I would be off work the 23rd of the same month and that I wanted to retrieve my property. She left me a message and told me she threw it all in trash and stated it was just some 'junk'. When I texted her back and told her that I did not believe that she trashed my Hewlitt Packard computer, all my garden tools, approximately $500.00 in jewelry, approximately $3,000.00 in clothes and shoes in the trash. I also informed her that my family bible, all family pictures, all my legal paperwork from divorce, etc. is what was left in there, she then told me that she gave it to my son-in-law, which is an out and out lie. The very same items she told me she trashed 5 days earlier...?????...What can I do to get my property back?


Asked on 10/31/10, 11:27 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Phillip M. Cook Cook Legal Services, LLC

You can sue her in Magistrate Court for the amount of your loss. You will have to prove what was actually in the apartment, that you owned it, that she had a duty to keep it for you, and that she actually threw it away. That may not be so easy to do. Of course, hiring an attorney will improve your chances of success.

Best of luck.*******The above is for informational purposes only and does not create an attorney-client privilege.*******

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Answered on 11/05/10, 11:54 am


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