Defaulted on an Eviction Action, but Never Served

My question involves an eviction in the state of: Rhode Island

Hello all! This is a little long so I apologize in advance. I posted this on another forum, but figured it would not hurt to get more information as I have not gotten much help besides nice replies.

Background

Four years ago, I rented an apartment with two other girls while I was studying my undergraduate degree. The lease was from Sept. 09-May 10 (or June, I can't remember exactly but it was only a 9 month school year lease). The landlord and his company was based in Oklahoma and he had a property management company take care of everything - showing the apartment, collecting rent, etc.

The roommates and I would put our money in an envelope either on the fridge or on our kitchen table. The property manager would call the day before he was going to pick up rent and let us know, he would then pick up the rent and either hand us or leave us a receipt. No issues with this. In March 2010, roommate #1 and I had our rent together on the same day and left it in the designated spot.

Roommate #2 said that she would have hers shortly. We went about our business until I had to call the property manager to fix a light in our bathroom. He asked me when he was repairing when we were moving. I had no clue what he was talking about. He said that the landlord had put him on notice to evict us and we should have received paperwork from him due to not paying rent. I stopped him, explained what roommate #1 and I did and he said there was no money waiting for him.

I spoke to roommate #1 and we confronted roommate #2 who tells us she used the money to invest in street pharmaceuticals. This was the straw that broke the camel's back for me as I was having issues with both of the girls, but figured as long as I was not in any danger and the bills were being paid that I'd stay, but with a looming eviction over my head, enough was enough.

I called the landlord, explained the situation, had roommate #1 verify as well and the landlord said he'd let me off of the lease as long as I got both roommates to sign a letter agreeing to let me off and that I forfeit my third of the security deposit. No problem, I drafted a letter, had it cleared by the property manager and both girls signed it in front of me. I gave a copy to the property manager, kept a copy myself and gave a copy to each girl. I verified a week later that the landlord received it, he said yes. I cancelled the utilities (they were all in my name) and moved in with a friend about a week later.

That's the background. Here's the current problem: I received an alert in January 2014 (this month) that there was an addition to my credit report and it was a public record. After disputing with the credit card company (because the public record said literally nothing, but the name of the court and the plaintiff), I get a direct number to the court and get a docket number that says I have a default eviction judgment from July 2010! I have NEVER been served, notified and I check my credit report and I also have several copies, as early as August 2013 showing that this record is recent.

There is no information for the landlord, only to the attorney who I call and ask to pull their files. I contact an attorney through legal aid who takes over speaking with the attorney who filed my old landlord's information. The eviction noticed was served June 2010 to the apartment itself which I'm unsure if anyone even lived there at that time. He received all of the documents with contact information and stated that I could get file a motion to vacate if I could prove that the judgment was based on fraud since it has been over a year as long as I could show I was released from the lease, or I could try to work it out through the landlord.

I tried the number on the court documents, but the number no longer works and there is no information online and the apartment is owned by a completely different person.

Is there anything else I can do to get this removed from my record with a landlord who no longer exists? The plaintiff no longer exists and I was never notified of this eviction. Yes, I forwarded my mail from the apartment when I moved.

I can have affidavits drawn up from, 1.) the person who took over my room when I moved, 2.) more than likely the old roommates as I reached out to them and let them know about the judgment, 3.) Paperwork from the utilities company showing when I cancelled services. My attorney says it's something, but having the copy that was signed saying I was let go from the lease is the main evidence, but I have lived in two different states and in over 9 apartments (job and college transfers) in the past 4 years. The earliest any of my documents go back is to 2011.

My attorney is shocked that the judgment is just showing up on my credit report because it's been 4 years. I cannot contact my attorney until Tuesday, but I'd like to get an idea of what my available options are. Thank you again for those who read it this far!

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Here is more detailed information on what I have done:

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I have pulled property report information and it's all registered under the business name... every single file and document is registered like that. The only address I have is a P.O. Box, once again registered under the business's name. All the attorney documentation that I received is also under the property name. The business is registered in the state of RI, but the landlord lived in OK.

The letterhead for the official eviction notice only has the business name and the P.O. Box.

The credit report shows absolutely nothing, but the name of the business and the court district name, address, and phone number. The public record does not even show what type of judgment it is.

I even looked up sale documentation and it just shows the business name who sold it (my ex landlord) and the buyer. It has no contact information for the seller. I plan to try and call the buyer to see if they can release any information.

When I called the courts (twice), there is NO contact information for the landlord, there is only contact information for the attorney. Under the court documents that were filed for everything is under the business name. Searching the state files, shows nothing but that the business inactive.

Also, I only remember the landlord's first name (which is a VERY common name) and I have tried multiple searches with that name and the business name. I took the phone number and searched craigslist (where I found the apartment), I even used the Wayback machine to see if anything was archived.

It is like this person and business never existed.

I do not live in RI anymore so it's not as if I can go down to the records department (which is where the case has been moved to since it is so old). I also do not and have never lived in OK and I do not live anywhere near commutable distance to that state.

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The landlord still exists, unless he died. If you want to see if he'll help you out, you'll need to track him down.

Why is your attorney shocked that a judgment would show up on your credit report? That's pretty ordinary.

I'm not sure how I am supposed to track down a man when the business is now defunct and he sold the property in December of 2010 (actually all properties owned by the company), a few months after this eviction took place. I don't have a last name, only a very common first name. I've tracked down all the business information that the attorney had and that I could find from the state, and none of the documentation has the landlord's name on it - only the business name. Even the sale documents only list the business's information. The business information, including a letter head from the company only have the name of the business, PO Box, local RI number (which no longer works) and a fax number.

The landlord lived, at the time, in Oklahoma. There's no telling if he's still there. I don't even live in the state of RI anymore and all my correspondence has been through email and over the phone.

The post office won't release information about who owned a PO Box unless there is a subpoena and there is nothing on the inactive file for the state license that the business was registered under.

My attorney is shocked that it's taken 4 years to show up on my credit report, not that it's there. I have previous reports from the same credit agency and others, one credit report as recent as Aug 2013, and nothing is on my public record.

Thank you for your reply... I just feel really stuck because I'm not sure what more I should be doing besides hiring a private investigator which I have no money for.

If you cannot figure out how to find him yourself, you can consider retaining a private investigator to find him. People are generally not hard to find, and most people can be located with some creative Googling. If you do choose to hire an investigator, you may find that the cost of doing a basic search is more affordable than you expect. If you want to try to litigate the issue, you'll need to know where he is to serve him.

It appears the logical thing to do at this point might be to motion the case be reopened due to improper service. I don't know where it would go if the plaintiff cannot be located.