I was served an unlawful detainer notice by my landlord on Thursday nov 11 that was dated on Wednesday nov 10. I have until Monday to file a response or be automatically evicted. I need some unofficial advice before proceeding. The area of jurisdiction is San Diego, CA.
My roommate and I were supposed to be out of the apartment on nov. 1. The land lady talked to me on Oct. 31 and said that any time after that she would charge me a prorated fee for everyday we stay past that. I informed her that I was moving back to northern California and my last day of work here in SD was nov 14 and I wouldn't stay any longer than that. She was a little annoyed and repeatedly told me that I would b paying nearly half the rent.
I wasn't sure exactly how long I would be staying so there was no point in giving her any money for rent until I knew how much I owed. I decided that I would just stay until the 14th and pay my half of the rent that I would have owed anyways. This was a better alternative than moving all my stuff twice, once to a friends and then again a few days later to norcal.
On Wednesday night (10th) the owner of the building caught me outside by my car and we started a heated argument. He was under the impression that I was ducking out on the rent completely. After several minutes of calmly explaining that I was going to pay the prorated rent based on what day I left when I turned my keys in so that I wouldn't over/under pay, he calmed down. He told me that if I gave the landlord $200 the next day as an act of good faith and paid the balance on the 14th it would be acceptable.
When I cam home from work on thursday nov. 11, there was an unlawful detainer notice posted on my door saying I had 5 days to file a response with the court or be automatically evicted. The notice was dated nov 10, so they had filed against me before the owner even talked to me and made our verbal agreement. I went to the landlord and told her about my discussion with the owner. She called the property manager and neither one of them had been told about our agreement by the owner. The property manager told the landlord that she would contact the attorney and have them cancel the unlawful detainer and to accept my $200 payment. Today I turned in the balance of the prorated rent as promised, but when I asked if the suit had been dropped, I was told that thy had left a message for the attorney but received no response to confirm. The manager again accepted my check and told me to call the property manager on Monday after 9am to see if it had been cancelled. I have a photocopy of both checks signed and dated by the landlord saying she received these checks.
Obviously I have to prepare my response and be ready to turn it into the court on Monday to cover my own ass and not receive an automatic judgement against me in the event it doesn't get dropped.
Based on these facts, in case I do have to go to trial, what are my chances of winning? The owner entered into a verbal agreement with me after the unlawful detainer had been filed, I kept up my end ofthe bargain with signed copies of checks, and those checks were accepted by the landlord with permission from property management company. The cause for the unlawful detainer is rent has not been paid. That is no longer true, it has been paid in full.
Anyone with knowledge or similar experiences?
My roommate and I were supposed to be out of the apartment on nov. 1. The land lady talked to me on Oct. 31 and said that any time after that she would charge me a prorated fee for everyday we stay past that. I informed her that I was moving back to northern California and my last day of work here in SD was nov 14 and I wouldn't stay any longer than that. She was a little annoyed and repeatedly told me that I would b paying nearly half the rent.
I wasn't sure exactly how long I would be staying so there was no point in giving her any money for rent until I knew how much I owed. I decided that I would just stay until the 14th and pay my half of the rent that I would have owed anyways. This was a better alternative than moving all my stuff twice, once to a friends and then again a few days later to norcal.
On Wednesday night (10th) the owner of the building caught me outside by my car and we started a heated argument. He was under the impression that I was ducking out on the rent completely. After several minutes of calmly explaining that I was going to pay the prorated rent based on what day I left when I turned my keys in so that I wouldn't over/under pay, he calmed down. He told me that if I gave the landlord $200 the next day as an act of good faith and paid the balance on the 14th it would be acceptable.
When I cam home from work on thursday nov. 11, there was an unlawful detainer notice posted on my door saying I had 5 days to file a response with the court or be automatically evicted. The notice was dated nov 10, so they had filed against me before the owner even talked to me and made our verbal agreement. I went to the landlord and told her about my discussion with the owner. She called the property manager and neither one of them had been told about our agreement by the owner. The property manager told the landlord that she would contact the attorney and have them cancel the unlawful detainer and to accept my $200 payment. Today I turned in the balance of the prorated rent as promised, but when I asked if the suit had been dropped, I was told that thy had left a message for the attorney but received no response to confirm. The manager again accepted my check and told me to call the property manager on Monday after 9am to see if it had been cancelled. I have a photocopy of both checks signed and dated by the landlord saying she received these checks.
Obviously I have to prepare my response and be ready to turn it into the court on Monday to cover my own ass and not receive an automatic judgement against me in the event it doesn't get dropped.
Based on these facts, in case I do have to go to trial, what are my chances of winning? The owner entered into a verbal agreement with me after the unlawful detainer had been filed, I kept up my end ofthe bargain with signed copies of checks, and those checks were accepted by the landlord with permission from property management company. The cause for the unlawful detainer is rent has not been paid. That is no longer true, it has been paid in full.
Anyone with knowledge or similar experiences?