We don'tknow what we're suppose to do.

[Mustang Sally]

We were evicted for not paying our rent. We live in Utah. Our landlord has been very patient with us in the past when we were late and we understand that they want their rent. OK long story short, the attorney they hired to evict us is known for being on the slimy side. He has lied to us when we've asked about eviction, called me names, lied to our landlord about serving us, added 300 dollars to one of our payment arrangements so we couldn't pay, it's all crap that is his word against ours and just keeps the situation inflamed. He is not well liked by the court clerks either.

I consulted with a local attorney, he looked over all our papers and said "we definately have something here" he advised me to request a hearing (which I have done) because we were never served a copy of the summons and complaint and never had a chance to request a hearing. (I did not retain him, I just paid for a consultation with him).

The only papers we were served was the one the sheriff gave me when they entered the house to evict us.

From what I've been reading about the eviction process, there is a strict guideline that must be followed. In our case it was not. It is my understanding that the Judge can "throw it out" and the eviction process must be started over.

We have been staying with a friend for almost two weeks, everything we own is still in the house. We will have the total amount of rent that we owe before our hearing date.

What we are needing to know is what kind of recourse do we have because we were not properly evicted?

Will we be let back in to our home? I've had to borrow clothes, and buy toothpaste, make up, shampoo etc... not to mention the cost of having to eat. Could we file a civil suit for all of the expenses we have had in order to survive and make it to work smelling and looking normal?

To what advantage is it for us that our landlord's attorney did not follow the correct proceedure? What happens to the added costs that involve treble fees we may owe until the landlord is able to rerent our place if they don't let us back in?

All of the contents are still in the house. We have A LOT of stuff and our landlord is in no position to cover the cost of having it all packed, moved and stored. We understand that we must pay those costs to our landlord if it comes to that, in order to have our things returned to us.

Before the eviction our landlord was calling us to find out what was going on because their attorney wouldn't tell them anything, they told us that they have not received any of the rent payments that we have paid to their lawyer. They are not happy that they have taken this route and have regrets.

Is there any way this nightmare can be to our advantage without hurting our landlord? They want to work this all out with us but don't want to fire their attorney because they are worried that they will not get any money we've paid him.

Please, We're loosing sleep and our cat's freaked out.
Thank you, Thank you, very much.

[OHlandlord]

When you have the hearing, you need to stress to the judge that you were never served any papers prior to the eviction hearing and were never afforded any opportunity to attend the hearing or give your side of it. Let him know that no notice arrived in the mail, no notice was personally served, nor was any notice tacked to the door of your unit. That you had no knowledge of any hearing until the sheriff arrived to force you out of the unit.

Ask that the eviction be striken from the record and a new hearing be scheduled and that you be given proper notice to attend this hearing. Request that you be allowed to re-enter your unit until such time as when this hearing is rescheduled. Let the judge know that this has caused you undue hardship. That without any prior notice you were forcibly removed from your residence and had no time to remove any belongings. That you have not had access to any of your belongings since and are in dire need of personal effects.

The end result should be that you are allowed to return, the eviction will be striken from the record, and it will start over again. You will still ultimately be evicted if you cannot pay the rent monies owed to the LL. (I find it hard to believe the LL is "afraid" to fire is own attorney if he wants. Sounds like a smoke screen from a LL who is afraid to tell you the way he really feels.)

I do not understand the treble damages part? Is this a state law or a lease clause? The only treble damages I am familiar with is the one owed to the tenant by a LL when the LL shows bad faith in failing to return the security deposit within the state law time limit. Then the LL may be forced to return treble damages in some states and return 3 x the deposit amount to the tenant. Please explain this part further.

[Mustang Sally]

Thank you so very much for your reply. I hope the outcome of our hearing results in our being able to return and I will tell the judge what a hardship being evicted has caused us, as you suggested. Thank you.

In the 3 day notice (dated 12-20-2007) from LL:
"You are further notified that if you fail to pay the above sums in compliance with the terms of your rental agreement, or vacate the premises within three days, the undersigned will institute legal proceedings to evict you from the premises in accordance with Utah Code Ann. 78-36-10 (1953). You willl be liable for the rent, utilities and fees accrued, plus treble damages for unlawful detainer, plus court costs and attorney fees".

We had paid part of our rent for December and still owed 795.00 as stated in the 3 day notice.

I went to the courthouse and requested a copy of our case. In the "Complaint for Eviction Unlawful Detainer: Default in Rent" there is a part that says:
"...plaintiffs prays Judgment against defendants as follows:
...C. For past due rent in the sum of 686.09 for the period commencing 12-01-07 and ending 12-23-07 together with treble rentals from and including the 24th day of December 2007, until possession of the rented premises is restored to plaintiffs.

That is the trebel costs that I mentioned in my post. No where in our lease does it mention treble anything.

Our LL called and left us a message saying that our neighbors have friends interrested in renting our place and that they (LL) will only charge us a daily storage fee for our contents. We have not yet returned the call.

May I mention that the post "Illegal eviction" dated 2-19-2008 mentions that their LL's attorney has an unethical reputation. There is no doubt in my mind that we are dealing with the same guy.

On Jan 3, 2008 we gave our LL a check for 1,000. for the Dec rent we owed and for part of Jan rent. She brought it back and told us to contact her attorney. My boyfriend went to their attorneys office the following day and he refused the check and said come back with cash. He took back the papers that he had handed to my boyfriend and said he could sign them when he returned with the cash.
When he got home he handed me the check and said I'd have to go back on monday with cash. Which I did. I was given a receipt.

When I got a copy of everything in the file from the courthouse there is a "Stipulation" that has my boyfriends signature in two places. The second signature being below the part that says he acknowledges receipt of a copy of the stipulation. He never came home with any papers and insists he did not sign anything.

I'm afraid that the judge would think we were not being truthful if we said we never signed anything or received a copy of the stipulation. That is the kind of crap that people who lie would say. Between items in my boyfriends wallet and a few things I was able to find in the truck from his recent courses and forms from work I have 7 samples of his signature and I am confident that is not his signature(s) on the stipulation submitted to the court by LL's attorney. I assume that Judges are lied to by people who don't want to be held accountable for their own actions all the time, would it appear that we are trying to "play dumb" if we told the judge we never got a copy of the stipulation and never signed it? Would it be a good idea to let the Judge compare the signatures with the samples I was able to gather?

May I also add that the copy of our file that I got from the courthouse has documents that we have never seen or received from LL's attorney. If it is common knowledge that this guy is unethical, could it be that he gets away with it because no one calls him out on it? Are Judges handwriting experts? Plus, what are the odds that I found a post, from a Lady in Utah, on this site, about the same attorney?

Thank you for your time I can see that your replies have helped out many and shed some light on others in difficult situations. I'm truly thankful.
Mustang Sally (Karen)

Very thoughtful and helpful!! Thanks!!

[OHlandlord]

I would suggest that your seek legal aide if at all possible. This attorney doesn't appear to be operating under the rules of the court. Since you are now "homeless" you should qualify. You may also check into tenant's unions or tenant advocacy groups in your area. Metro Housing or the local library could give you the information available in your area for these.

The treble damages must be a state statute that I am not aware of. (It is impossible to know of every statute from every other state, sorry. You would have to look this statute up under the state law - look under termination of leases.) A legal aide atorney would know (or be able to look up) this statute. It appears from that form that your state has a statute that allows a LL to charge 3x the rent once a 3 day or eviction detainer form has been issued. So Jan.'s rent would have tripled per this statute if it is correct.

I would definitely make the judge aware that there are articles and items in the file from court that you never received and never signed. A judge may have your BF sign something in fron of the court or show his signed driver's license to compare signature. No, judges aren't handwriting experts, but this would not be the first case where someone tried to fake a tenant's signature on a document.

It sounds as if they refused the offer of rent because it was not in verifiable funds. (The person check could have been NSF.) It also could have been because you were not paying in full (only part of Jan.'s rent was included on Jan. 3).

Please seek legal advice from a local attorney and go over the point I have raised here with that person. You need more help than what you will be able to get over the internet. Good luck.