Need advice on how to handle this (long story) re: apartment

[WilmywoodNCparalegal]

Hubby and I have been living in this apartment since July 2003. Our lease has been renewed twice by the management co. without problems.

What we thought was a dream apartment turned into a nightmare about 3 months after we moved in. After heavy rains, a leak in the ceiling developed; pieces of plaster and water rained down. Despite our multiple oral and written requests for repairs, nothing happened. At about the same time that we began to send strongly-worded letters to the management co asking for repairs, we were sued for non-payment. This was around November. The hearing date was set for December 24. Apparently, the lawyer for the management company requested the hearing to be rescheduled. We were told that nothing would happen because we had paid. Thankfully, we easily obtained a copy of the front and back of the check.

Well, lo and behold, the hearing was not rescheduled, we were not told about the new date and the management company obtained a default judgment against us. So, a few days later we found a 3-day notice of eviction. We immediately called an attorney (and spent $500) to file a motion for a hearing.

We were sure that this was retribution for our letters about the repair (which had not been done yet). So, we show up in court with our lawyer. The management co lawyer does not show, but the manager of the apartment buildings and the head REPAIR MAN show up (funny how that is!). Anyway, everything was dismissed and a few days later they came to 'repair' (more like scraping the old plaster, plastering anew and painting) the ceiling. We foolishly did not sue them (though we could have) because at that point we were broke.

We then thought about moving and almost did it, until I found out I had to have foot surgery. So we ended up staying. Now, just a week ago we find another lawsuit for nonpayment, this time for nonpayment for September (by the way, these guys apparently sue immediately; never mind no one bothered to call us or tell us there was a problem). Once again, we obtained proof of the check having been made, deposited, cleared and paid to the management company's bank. This check is in my handwriting and the only weird thing about it is that the pen was not working well, so it was written with a heavy hand at times. Well, the management company left me a message on the phone saying that 'someone' is committing fraud because the information on the check was written over and the coded number makes it look like it was made out for $330. Firstly, I do not see the code they are referring to (I am knowledgeable about this stuff); secondly, they could not have humanly checked this in all of 2 minutes. I was dismayed! They basically accused us (hubby and I) of faking the check!

I don't know how to handle this. They want a certified check for this amount. We are not willing to do this for them. If they lose record of a check, it should be their problem, not ours. We heard this stuff (minus the 'account fraud') before. Now, to complicate things, we found this apartment and we want to move out by the end of the month. We know that we would be breaking the lease and that we won't see our security deposit again. We don't care. We've had enough with these loonies. Any suggestions (we live in NJ, by the way)? We will not find another tenant for them. I dare them to sue us. We have all of the paperwork from the last time and this time we're not broke. Suggestions?

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

1. If you are in NYC google housing notebook

on WBAI and get in touch with them.

THey can help.

I don't remember the excact name, I have it at home.

[myrna minx]

2. Hopefully this may help.

http://www.lsnjlaw.org/english/placeilive/rent/tenantsrights.cfm

[Shakespeare]

3. A couple of thoughts....

I used to do these (they're called Unlawful Detainer complaints) for an attorney I recently worked for. I suspect the laws between CA and NJ are not radically different, so I'll make two suggestions:

1. Try to reach an agreement with the management, whether it's for you to move out early and forfeit your deposit, or whatever it takes (you're not on a month-to-month automatically after the first year?). Get the agreement in writing.

2. Make sure--and this is the most important thing--that you get a full dismissal of the action they've filed against you. If they're able to get a court judgment in their favor, this can hurt you in a couple of ways (which you may be already be aware); they can levy your bank account or have your wages garnished for the amount of the judgment, and I believe that it may also prevent you from buying a house if there's an existing judgment against you on record.

Your landlord sounds like complete scum, but try your best to resolve the situation so that it doesn't come back to bite you later.