Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Michigan

Small claims

My husband helped his ex-girlfriend by cosigning an apartment lease she broke the lease early.The landlord has now passed it to collections. Now collections are demanding payment from my husband. Collections said that if he dint make a payment this month it would be reported to the landlord and that they would appropriate action. So my husband made a payment of $100 this month. The collections havent been contacting her in this regard. My husband contacted her through her friend and she says she would try to send a check every month but she sounds very hesitant in sending payments. We dont have her contact number (we call her friend instead) and she would not reveal her residence either. Does my husband stand a good chance in the small claims court? She also has my husband's car and laptop and she wouldnt return them either. Is there any way the amount be transferred to her name and my husband be relieved from this? Iam helpless and I want him out of these hassles.


Asked on 1/02/03, 4:31 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Thomas Weiss McClintic & Weiss, P.C.

Re: Small claims

Hello!

This certainly sounds like a difficult and uncomfortable situation for you - you are to be commended for being so reasonable, and being so reasonable will help your financial situation.

First of all, you may want to consider having an attorney look at the lease and the guarantee that was signed by your husband to see if he has any defenses against having to pay. This is a pretty technical area and spending a $100-$200 on an attorney that specializes in landlord/tenant issues would be money well spent. Find such an attorney (try the Washtenaw Bar Association Attorney Referal Service at 734-996-3229) and explain in the phone call that you want a one-hour consult at a fixed price. Anyone that deals with landlord/tenant should be able to sort this thing out in an hour, easy, IF they have all the paperwork - the lease, any separate guaranty agreement, etc. If you don't have the papers, get them from the landlord. If the landlord gives you a tough time, take notes as to who and when you talked to them - that by itself is a good defense.

As to car and laptop - may as well mention them to the attorney that you meet with on the landlord/tenant. I would imagine that sending her a letter to her last known address demanding a return of the items should go a long way to protecting your rights. If she doesn't give them back, you could either sue her for them (conversion is the claim) or perhaps file a complaint with the police.

Make sure that you document everything. Everything. You will be glad that you did.

Tom Weiss

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Answered on 1/03/03, 10:29 am


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