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    Default Can You Sue an Ex-Roommate for Causing Damages That are Now in Collections

    My question involves landlord-tenant law in the State of: Florida
    My roommate had someone living in the apartment who wasn't on the lease. I've moved out early on the lease and they agreed to pay for the lease and all utilities. Upon them moving out they destroyed about $8,000 worth of damage, which is now in collection. I have screenshots and recorded phone calls of them agreeing to pay off the debt, but the collection is on my credit report. Is their anyway I can hold them accountable for the damages they caused. If so, how should I file a court case against them.

  2. #2
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    Default Re: Can I Sue My Roommate for Debt Relief from an Apartment They Damaged

    Quote Quoting YoungWhipperSnapper2
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    Is their anyway I can hold them accountable for the damages they caused. If so, how should I file a court case against them.

    You seem to already know that you have the option to sue them in court for a judgment in the amount that is owed and that they agreed to pay. The problem is that in Florida small claims court is limited to cases involving amounts of $5,000 or less. That means to sue for the full $8,000 you would need to file the case in either county court (which may hear cases of up to $15,000) or circuit court, which may hear cases of any amount. The litigation in either of these courts will be more complex than small claims court. You might want to get a lawyer for that if you are not familiar at all without how to do it. Or you could limit your claim to $5,000 and sue in small claims court. If you do that you cannot file a second case later for the other $3,000. What you get if you win is a judgment for the amount the court determines they owe you. You still have the task then of collecting that judgment by attaching non exempt income or assets that they have (e.g. garnishing wages, levying a bank account, etc).

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    Default Re: Can I Sue My Roommate for Debt Relief from an Apartment They Damaged

    It can also be tricky to sue somebody over a joint debt where you have not already paid off the debt -- that is, recovering money that you have already applied to the debt -- because your claim at that point is effectively for money owed to somebody else.

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