Ask a Lawyer - Archive

My roommate and I got a one year contract for an apartment. My mom cosigned the contract for both of us. Three weeks later my roommate text me telling me she wanted to terminate the lease. The cost to terminate the lease was $3,500. To get my mom off the contract my mom needs to pay $1,500. My roommate does not want to pay anymore. My roommate wants my mom and I to take her to court if we want the $1,500. My roommate is thinking that by taking her to court she wouldn't have to pay us anything since my mom is the cosigner and all the paper work is under my mom's name. Although when we got the apartment my roommate also signed papers to live there. Those are the only written documents my roommate signed. My roommate and I are the primary one's since we were going to be the ones to live there. Since my mom cosigned for her, my mom took her dad to a notary and they got a written document saying if his daughter (my roommate) didn't pay her monthly rent he would have to pay. This is the only paperwork we have from her dad. I want to know if with that document it can also imply to my roommate and her dad for cancelling the contract. I don¿t know if by taking her to a small claims court is the best idea, since I believe all the responsibility would fall under the cosigner's hands. Do you think taking her to a small claims court requires for me to higher a lawyer? Also is there any legal way i can get the $1,500 dollars she owes to my mom?

The bottom line is that your mother signing as the co-signer for you roommate makes her liable to the landlord BUT it doesn't prohibit her from recovering from your bailing roommate or her father. You can't get blood from a turnip, so the chances of the bailing roommate paying are probably slim to none. Hopefully the father is a better credit risk.

Before hiring a lawyer or marching off to small claims court, I suggest that your mother first call the father to see if he'll ante up his daughter's share. I can't imagine it's only going to be $1500 all in, but if that's the case, he might just pay to make it all go away. If not, then I suggest your mother make a written demand on the document. If that doesn't work, then it's time to go to small claims court. It seems your mom could file the action against the bailing roommate and her dad, although her best shot is against the father. She can't recover anything she hasn't paid, so she'll have to pay first and then take her chances.

I don't know the small claims (or magistrate) court specifics in your area, but it's safe to assume that you won't need a lawyer and that you can bring a claim for the full $1,500. Your challenge will be that even if you win in court, you have to collect. You might need to file a lien in the county where the father has property or try to garnish a bank account or wages. Good luck!