Judge Fairly: You may be seated. Are the parties ready in the case of Diane Smith versus Jason Deal?
Attorneys: Yes, your honor!
Judge: Good. Counsel for the plaintiff, please summarize your case in a brief opening statement.
Mr. Gooding: Thank you, Judge Fairly. This case comes to you on appeal from a Small Claims case heard in district court. As you know, attorneys are not allowed in Small Claims court, but the court rules allow attorneys in the case of an appeal and both sides are now represented. Under our court rules, a new trial is allowed as a result of the appeal. Ms. Smith brought this case because of damage to a house she owns. Mr. Deal rented the house for a year. Because of late payment of rent and noise complaints by neighbors, Ms. Smith did not renew Mr. Deal's lease at the end of the one-year lease term. Instead, she gave him notice to vacate the property. Mr. Deal did vacate the property, but an inspection of the property after he moved showed substantial damage. The security deposit was only $500, but Ms. Smith's expenses returning the property to good condition totaled $2,000. She is seeking judgment for $1500 plus attorney's fees and costs.
Ms. Fink: Your Honor, my client has a complete defense to this claim. As the evidence will show, he vacated the property promptly and in good condition. His $500 deposit should be returned to him and his attorney's fees and costs paid by the plaintiff. This claim is based on the desire of the plaintiff to recover her costs in making improvements to the property, which were long overdue. Any damages to the property were the result of normal wear and tear on a building already in poor condition. My client is entitled to a full refund of his deposit. He was happy to vacate a building which had many hidden problems not disclosed by the owner when he entered into the one-year lease.
Mr. Gooding: I call Ms. Smith as my first witness.
Judge: Ms. Smith, please take the witness stand. Raise your right hand to be sworn in. Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
Ms. Smith: Yes, I do.
Mr. Gooding: Ms. Smith, please state your name and address and how you know the defendant.
Ms. Smith: My name is Diane Smith. I live at 2665 Spring St. in Anytown, Washington. I own a rental house at 25 Bleak Avenue S.E. About 18 months ago, the defendant, Jason Deal answered an ad I placed in the newspaper offering my rental house for lease. He seemed like a nice young man, but he didn't have very much money. I had intended to paint the house and install new carpets. He asked me to let him rent the property "as is," paying less rent and a smaller than normal damage deposit. I agreed and set the rent at $600, rather than $750, and accepted a damage deposit of $500, rather than $750.
Mr. Gooding: Did any problems develop?
Ms. Smith: The rent was due on the 1st of each month, but I never received it until at least the 10th. Starting the first month he moved in, I received complaints from neighbors about loud parties and music. Twice the police came to the house due to these noise complaints. It is a quiet residential neighborhood and I was quite embarrassed about these problems. Finally, I had had enough. I gave Jason a Notice to Vacate at the end of his lease term. He moved out a few days late, but that wasn't the biggest problem. When I went to inspect the property I found many problems. Here's the list I made and the cost of repairing the problems:
Ms. Fink: Your honor, I would like to call my client, Mr. Deal, to the witness stand.
Judge: Mr. Deal, please raise your right hand to be sworn in. Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
Mr. Deal: I do.
Ms. Fink: Mr. Deal, please state your name and address and describe the condition of your rental home at the time you moved in and when you moved out.
Mr. Deal: My name is Jason Deal. I live in the Heartbreak Hotel on Pine Street downtown. It's the only place I can afford to live right now, since I didn't get my deposit back from Diane and I've been laid off my job. When I moved into her house it was a mess. There were holes in the carpet, marks on the walls, and dust and dirt all over. I told her she didn't have to clean it up if I could pay a lower rent and deposit than she was asking for. She seemed happy with that, because she didn't want the extra expense of painting, new carpets, and a big clean-up job. I made it really easy for her, but now she wants me to pay the clean-up expenses that needed to be done before I ever moved in. It's not fair. Anything that happened to the house while I lived there was normal wear and tear. The big problems of floors, walls, and debris were there when I moved in.
(Some additional questions are asked of these witnesses and a few other witnesses testify. The attorneys make closing arguments. The judge then announces her decision.)
Judge: I find that the defendant violated his lease by failing to move out on time at the end of his lease term and by damaging the property during his tenancy. No damages are awarded for the three days he was late moving out, since those damages were not requested by the plaintiff. Regarding the other problems, I find defendant responsible for damages totaling $375. Since his deposit was $500, the defendant is awarded judgment in the amount of $125 plus his court costs and attorney's fees. The defendant is responsible for the repair costs of the following items: missing towel rack, hole in closet door, and broken shower door. Since the parties agree that the house needed painting, the floors needed upgrading, and the house was dirty when defendant moved in, no damages will be awarded for those items. Furthermore, the plaintiff presented insufficient evidence of the repair cost of those items to support an award of damages. This concludes this case. Court is now in recess.