Hey Folks,
I reside in Washington D.C. and I have seemingly run into legal issues regarding subleases. In February, I moved into a condo unit with three other guys. The main guy had already signed a lease with the landlord and then posted an ad for a room for rent on Craigslist (which is how I found him). He did not want me to sign the lease or any documents at all, but I know I need to at least try to protect myself, so I wrote up a sublease agreement and had him sign it.
After a series of ridiculous events and officially finding out that I was, in fact, illegally subletting, I moved out (June 29th) and had the main guy sign a release from liability agreement.
Now the landlord is suing all of us for unpaid rents of June and July. We pay on the first of each month, for that month (July rent is paid on July 1st), so I do not believe that I am liable for July rents anyway. Secondly, from what I have been able to understand, I have no direct liability with the landlord, and therefore he cannot sue me for unpaid rents (remember, I was not on the actual lease).
The court date is in six days (I was never served) so I am trying to figure out my options. I did verify that we have a court date with a quick search through the DC court system. Any ideas?



