Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Virginia

Re: Damage from neglegince of the landlord

Your chances of successfully countersuing(for $8000 or so, presumably) would appear to be pretty good. However, much will depend upon how credible your estimates of your damages attributable to the landlord's breach appear to the trier of fact. You most likely will need the testimony of at least one expert witness who will be able to provide convincing estimates in particular of the damage which was caused to your equipment.

Re: Damage from neglegince of the landlord

Generally speaking, it is not easy to contest a

contract on the grounds that work was done badly

or the quality provided was poor. A judge will

usually say that the service was provided, or

the leased space made available, even if it was

not satisfactory.

HERE, however, if what you say holds up, the

landlord DID NOT provide the leased space, if

the space in the mall could not be used by order

of the government. The lease was effectively

terminated at that point int time, or at least

suspended until occupancy could resume.

Technically, this is a "constructive eviction"

because the circumstances created by the

landlord effectively led to your eviction, that

you could not actually use the space. If the space could not be actually used, then the landlord is in DEFAULT by failing to provide the leased space to you during that period. They cannot collect rent while NOT providing the space to you.

However, it is not unusual for companies to get

a balance due on their books, hand the entire

list over to an attorney, and forget why the

money is not due. They are free to harass you.

But if they go to court, they will have to

actually prove that you owe the money. At that

point, if what you say is true, they will lose.

It will be very important for you to be ready to

prove this. You should go to the health dept and

get any documents that may exist. You can send

a letter under the "freedom of information act"

and demand these documents (you must recite that

you are a citizen of Virginia). Try to find the

name of the official who closed the place down.

You can subpoena that person to come to the trial

if you do it immediately after a trial date is

set. Also try to find anyone you can to be a

witness, as many people as possible who have

actual, direct knowledge of what happened.

Now, that is defending against the bill. You can also file a counterclaim for the damage to your

property. This will be a little more difficult

because you will have to show that some action

or negligence by the landlord actually CAUSED

the damage to your property. It will not be

enough to simply prove that your propety was

damaged. You will need to prove that some

FAULT by the landlord is the direct cause of the

damage. And the fault has to be truly negligent,

not something unavoidable or hard to avoid.

The landlord is not a guarantor or insurer that

your property won't be harmed, but if they are

at fault, then you can collect for the damage.

Also you will need to study any lease documents.