My question involves a roommate in the State of: Oregon
In April, 2008, a former roommate and I agreed on specific terms of her living arrangements. Due to her studying abroad, she was not entitled to pay rent for the months in which first semester considered: September, October, and November. However, she was required to pay December because she would be back from study abroad. All of this was a verbal agreement that I made with her (me being a tenant in the house). In June she was late paying her July rent (had to be in by the 20th), and tried to get out of paying a portion of that rent. When August came, she stated that she didnt have to pay the rent, and that she wasnt going to. Me as well as the other tenants agreed that if she didnt pay August (since we would have to pay it for her) she wouldnt be able to live in the house when she returned from studying abroad. We were going to find a more reliable roommate. We gave her the option of either paying the rent, or choosing another place to live. She chose not to pay the rent. We found another roommate right away that was reliable and willing to pay the rent. The previous roommate had paid first and last months rent as well as the security deposit, but had never actually signed the lease. Now, she is trying to take me to small claims court, where she is attempting to get all the money she put into the house back from me (a tenant in the house). Can she legally take me to small claims? Or is this an issue she must bring up with the landlord?

