Follow up on my landlord issue (I basically won at court)

[SCV-Sop]

I will try to keep this brief and on point.

I do have a question at the very bottom.

She dropped her $2K claim against me and gave me back half my deposit. We settled with a mediator before it went before a commissioner. So I basically won.

She was so ticked off about that settlement, and she was the one that presented it. The mediator shut her down. It was AWESOME!!!!!!!!!

In summary she’s a crazy lady and said I was doing illegal activities in the house. The more persistent I was at getting my deposit back over the last 6 months the more elaborate the claims against me became.

I now have solid evidence to support the elements for:
1) unlawful entry
2) burglary/theft

Originally she claimed I damaged her plumbing, and used that as a stall tactic to give me back my deposit. That claim stopped being an issue when we went to court, and I think the reason is this:
1) She took pictures from INSDIDE my residence without given proper notice.
2) She produced a notice to enter the residence related to replacing a septic pump. So by providing that letter she justified lawful entrance, but by her own hand she provided supporting evidence that I was not the cause of her plumbing problems. Thus, she stopped complaining about the plumbing.

Now, back to the burglary/theft:
1) By her own claims she said I never took out the garbage (this is false, but assuming it is true makes things worse for her).
2) She brought to court my receipts from Midway, and a range rental fee reciept, shipping envelopes, and a few spent bullet cases (OH MY GOD IT WOULD HAVE BEEN AWESOME IF SHE BROUGHT A LIVE ROUND INO COURT).
a. Since I never threw anything away (according to her), she just proved she took that from inside my residence.
b. Lawful entry or not, she can’t take things from inside my home.
3) I have a voice message still on my phone with her claiming damages for the plumbing.
a. I feel this supports my claim that she fabricated the entrance notice pertaining to the replacement of the septic tank pump.
i. This being true, the pictures she took are now further proof of unlawful entry. She had pictures of everything. It was FREAKY.

I feel I got a little taste of what some of you go through when a false claim is presented against you, and perps just go on and on with their lies (just hoping for someone to belive them). If what she was saying about me was true it would have destroyed my background check for my Army Intel Analyst position. So I had to face this crazy bat head on and couldn’t ignore it.


And finally, my question:
I so much want to file a police report for the above mentioned unlawful entrance and theft of my personal papers from inside my residence. I know it’s petty, but she basically just thinks she can walk around and take pictures of the inside of my home, and take stuff to support her crazy claims.

The main reason I don’t report this is because I suspect since the DA won’t pursue it I would be wasting an officer’s time even filing the report.

In the event the DA was really board and did act upon it I will be in the middle of my Army training and wouldn’t be in the State anyway to be reached.

So I am thinking totally against filing a report and moving on with life.

Or should I file this and effectively put her on notice for the next sorry person that gets sucked into renting from her?

[just joe]

The items she took don't have any value. File a complaint with the BBB and move on. You filing a report is not going to have any affect on her future conduct.

[Iowa #1603]

The items she took don't have any value. File a complaint with the BBB and move on. You filing a report is not going to have any affect on her future conduct.

^^^^ Pretty much^^^^^

You got 1/2 your deposit back and she dropped the two grand claim


You came out ahead and should move on.

Just my 2 cents

[PhilipCal]

You won!! Move on.

[FJDave]

Yup, the case is over....what you have was evidence in your civil trial. Let it go, and move on. Congrats on the WINNING!!

[SCV-Sop]

Thanks. Moving on.

I'm just now coming down from my high.

Her obvious choice was either settle, or go into court and tick of the judge, and go up against a wall of my facts in answer to her gossip. I commend the mediator for what he did to convince her of that.

There was just no reasoning with this freak. When the mediator came back to talk to me independently he said a quick disclosure statement and said she’s willing to settle, drop all claims against me and give me half of what I’m claiming.

I was stunned. For the last 6 months I’ve been dealing with a psycho and now she was instantaneously shut down.

I can only speculate there was some convincing reasonableness to the complaints I share here of just how excessively she jerked me around. And while I’m putting that whole burglary claim behind me I was completely ready to open that can of worms if it went before a judge, and request I get my papers back as stolen property.

Somewhere the mediator conveyed to her she’s going to lose big, and expose herself to greater losses and liability.

In retrospect I really think the mediator did her a bigger favor than he did me. He didn’t consult with me for anything. He just asked me questions.

I will soon have a background check being conducted by federal agents in regard to my clearance as a Military Intel Analyst. I've now tied up this lose end. That's the bigger joy.

[District B 13]

Uuuhhhh. No. The mediator just did what they are supposed to do: keep cases out of court to clear it for ones that really need a judge. The "evidence" you got in the civil action would not be admissible in a criminal case. You just negated that option. There are two sides to every court tale, and all we got was yours.

[OneAdam12]

Why half? Just to shut her up? I'm a vindictive bastard, I would have asked for all of my deposit back because I was contracted to receive it.
Just stirrin the shxxx.

Maybe an incident report just to have it on record?

Keep all your paperwork so the feds can have a good laugh.

[SCV-Sop]

Why half? Just to shut her up? I'm a vindictive bastard, I would have asked for all of my deposit back because I was contracted to receive it.
Just stirrin the shxxx.

You are right, and in retrospect I settled too quickly and didn’t fully analyze all the information at the time I was magically instantaneously presented with a settlement in my favor.

I went in justifying a number less than my full deposit with the assumption if this was handled ethically from the beginning she could have justified taking a few hundred dollars for cleaning. The settlement was just a few hundred less than that. Looking at the financial materiality of it at the time I simply decided to move on.

As I think about what she did I’m scarred a little bit more, and I really don’t care about my deposit at all now.

Imagine if you will someone going into your home and taking pictures, and throwing all sorts of mud your direction in a public forum and judging how you live your life, and basically quoting a log of your actions while you lived at your residence (none of which has any legal standing but is there in the open nonetheless).

Imagine that person being slightly crazy and having full access to your residence, and that they in their mind justify they can do whatever they want, and they are telling this to you with an arrogance and condescending posture as they watch you squirm as you enter legal unknown.

She completely caved with a conversation I didn’t get to hear. So I don’t know why she caved.

I suspect it might have revolved around:
1) If this goes to the judge she will have to justify why she got access to take pictures.
2) She will have to connect the pictures to the damages regardless of her right to take the pictures.
3) I said she lied about the notice she gave me to gain access. I can validate that further by her inability to present the work order showing the work was done at the time the pictures were taken (while I lived there).
4) There was never a walk through of the residence when I vacated. I never was given a waiver by her to waive such a walk through (something new I just learned).

I did everything I needed to secure my deposit. I gave the proper notices and her 21 days allowed by law to claim costs against my deposit went by without her contacting me until day 63. Open closed, I win. That’s all the mediator wanted to hear from me.

So if we went to court it would have completely unraveled as to why she did the things she did and her having to validate her claims, and my having a voice message that contradicts herself from things she wrote on the complaint that she served me with.

I would have presented my case, and the rest of the time would have focused on the discussion between her and the judge. I wouldn’t have had to do anything. She would have slit her own throat.

I was too eager to move on. I could have watched her destroyer herself.

[Iowa #1603]

I was too eager to move on. I could have watched her destroyer herself.

No , you wanted out so you could move on with your life.


That was more important in the long run.

[OneAdam12]

She was already destroyed. You just needed your money back that was legally yours period. I hate landlords that pull that crap. I wonder what the percentage is that give back deposits honestly. When I rent a car or truck I go over it with an eagle eye with the sales person noting all damage however slight. I am not going to be charged for pre-existing or someone elses damage.