Landlord Saga -- UPDATE!

Tavia went to Small Claims Court today. Lisa and I were there, too. Here are the details: We arrived at 8:15, for the proceedings that were to begin at 8:30. At 8:45, the landlord had not shown up. At 8:50, she was not there either. The bailiff was talking about the uncontested cases (the ones where the other party did not show up). Tavia kept looking at the door every time it opened, hoping it wasn't Lynda (the landlord). And, it wasn't. She never did appear, even though she had a countersuit against Tavia. Anyway, a few cases got called before Tavia's. One man was suing a former employee because she had sued him previously and that case had been dismissed. The judge asks why are you suing her now. He says because her lawsuit against me (the previous one) was frivolous. He wants $500 now. And, the judge says on what are you basing your damages? He says she made him sick. He had to take medication due to the stress of her lawsuit. The judge told him he would send the decision by mail. Tavia was nervous, hand trembling. But, she aced it. When Tavia's name was called, she walked up there, looking very professional in a light blue suit with two notebooks, one for the judge and one for herself. She handed the judge the notebook and said, "This is for you." And, he said, Okay. She spoke very clearly and confident and did so so good! He asked her what her case was about. She read a short summary of the details of the case. Then he asked if she had a lease. Yes. The dates of the lease. She told him. He wanted to see the lease. She told him, It's Tab 2 (in the notebook). He was able to turn right to it in his copy of the presentation notebook. She told him about receiving the list from Lynda listing all the damages that she deducted from her security deposit. He asked to see the list. She said, I'ts Tab 4. He turned right to it. He began looking at the the list. It was a very long list with "damages" totaling $15,000. He said, "God" (kind of to himself like he couldn't believe it). At one point, the altercation was talked about when the police came and Lynda was handcuffed. He asked Tavia, "What was the problem between you two?" Tavia said, "Quite truthfully, I think she had mental problems." He said, Okay, and seemed to be satisfied with that response. And, he asked Tavia, "So, you are saying that nothing the landlord is claiming is true? Tavia, said, Yes. He said, You caused no damage to the house? She said, "Only ordinary wear and tear." Tavia referred him to Tab 7, the photographic evidence. He flipped through the pictures, not all of them though. He didn't need to. He said, Well I believe you. She's not here. So, Tavia won. The security deposit of $3100. The statutory damages of $4400 (which Tavia really didn't care about) he said he would take under submission and will send the judgment by mail. And, then he said to her, "By the way, this is an excellent presentation." Whoo hoo!

Oh yeah, and when we were walking out of the court room, all of the other people waiting for their cases to be heard nodded to Tavia in approval like, Well Done! Really.