Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Washington

Re: Judgment

You are correct. You are liable for the amount of the judgment, and not anything other than that. There was no adjudication of the move out charges, and thus you are not liable for those in the same way you are liable for the eviction judgment.

Just so you know, this is exactly the sort of debt that goes away completely in a bankruptcy.

They cannot charge interest under RCW 19.52.020; post judgment interest accrues pursuant to Title 6, not 19.

You had to have had a written agreement with the rental management company if you paid a deposit, and thus it is not too late to take them to small claims about the move out problem. The SOL is six years on a written agreement.

You will want to get a copy of the eviction judgment and order showing exactly what the judge said you owed and why. You will need that to distingush the judgment from the other charges the rental company is trying to browbeat you into paying.

You will want to review RCW 59 18 260, 270 and 280 in conjunction with your rental agreement to determine if your landlord failed to return your deposit in accordance with the law. If they failed to do what they are required to do, they are precluded from submitting evidence of their damages if you sue them to recover your deposit.

You can go watch a small claims docket to get an idea of how this all works.

As for the part reduced to judgment - it is too late to argue about that.

Hope this helps.