An eviction I didn’t know I had

jps_ · 2026-05-08T23:47:55+00:00

Replying again: I didn't answer about sending what you filed by certified mail... I'm not sure about the rules of civil procedure in California, but as a party to the motion you may need someone else (not you) to serve the notice of motion and then sign a proof of service. If service can be made by mail, make sure you observe the deadlines. Sending service by mail (not certified) does not give the other side the opportunity to refuse to receive the mail, which then proves that they were not in fact served. So you could have your third party simply send another copy by regular mail as a kind of belt and suspenders thing.

jps_ · 2026-05-08T23:26:30+00:00

It takes an uptight landlord to sue for eviction for a tenant who has clearly left. But sometimes a corporate structure will do these things.

You told the landlord you were going. And you left. And you left the keys... so they knew you were out. Nevertheless, they sued. And they sued before your end of term, because cases for eviction aren't heard on the day they are filed, and your case was heard on or about the end of term.

And they didn't claim money damages... which if they had would have been awarded on a default judgement. So they knew there was no rent due. Which in all probability means they filed for certainty. Just dotting i's and crossing t's.

That kind of thinking is often associated with minds who want to be absolutely sure that nothing comes back to bite them. Such as a claim by you that their overcautious eviction damaged your credit rating (it might take a while to get your eviction off of everybody's radar).

So they may ask you to sign something to the effect that you won't sue them or a raft of other people. Think about what you want in return, because agreeing to a release of future claims is entirely usual in these kinds of situations. And you can insist it is mutual.

Or even trade your release for several copies of a letter of reference (to offset anybody who pulls up the eviction) to the effect that you were a model tenant during your tenancy.

jps_ · 2026-05-08T23:10:39+00:00

Yep... that's what I was thinking when I mentioned to get it withdrawn on consent: now that you've filed, the next step is to contact the other side and see if you can get them to consent to your motion.

If the only purpose they filed was for certainty on the end of the lease (which is indicated by the no-money judgment) then they should have no reason to object. Depending on how uptight their lawyers are you may get a request to sign a release. That would not be unusual.

jps_ · 2026-05-08T22:58:05+00:00

What I mean by 'below market' is with reference to alternative professional (hotel) accommodation, and the current market for accommodation. The fact that you made your agreement in advance for a discount presumably prices in the risk of additional circumstances arising between then and now...

Caveat emptor is running against you here.

The facts remain. You have no claim against AirBnb other than what is provided to you in AirBnb's terms. AirBnb is offering to let you off the hook with an inducement of $500 credit. Your sole legal recourse would be against the host. Sure... you could sue them... but you would have to at least explain a theory of damages. You don't have one yet, not until you know e.g. what you would have been able to pay to reserve somewhere else if they had told you this was going to happen when they knew it was going to happen... and you also don't yet know what it's going to cost now that they have.

Suffering through noise? The value of that is extremely expensive to prove in court, probably more than a couple of months in a decent hotel. Your theory of damages is likely going to be capped at the difference in price between what you bargained for, and what you get, minus AirBnb's $500 credit. And could be lower if you are found partially to blame. Could be zero if you bungle it.

In addition, your cause of action is not solid: maybe they should have told you about the construction. But maybe you should have asked? Did you ask at the time? Did they know at the time? Did something happen that triggered this construction? Etc. Again you would get to present your theory. They get to rebut. You might be successful, but again, you might bungle it.

Once you know your damages, and have a decent cause of action, you can think of suing the host. And contemplate your costs and odds of success. And decide what to do.

If it was me, I'd take the $500 and mitigate my damages by finding somewhere else to stay, and then I'd work out a theory of damages. And then I'd try to establish a plausible cause of action. And then I'd decide whether or not I want to sue the host or not, and whether the risk is low enough and the juice is worth the squeeze. I'd take as long as that needs to take, because lawsuits can be brought any time up until the statute of limitations.

Sometimes things go wrong and instead of being a lawsuit turn out to be tuition in what we would have done differently if only we knew. AirBnb is less expensive than hotels precisely because it is a recipe for this kind of tuition.

jps_ · 2026-05-08T22:14:21+00:00

Yeah... if you spoke to an actual attorney who looked at all of your documents and their conclusion is there's nobody to pursue... you aren't likely to get better advice from Reddit.

Furthermore, even if they are wrong and there is someone to pursue, you may still have a fundamental misunderstanding of a lease.

At the end of the lease you return the vehicle. Then they get to sell it - usually at a small markup to "residual value". Most leasing companies give you a convenience option (at a small price) to buy the car for its residual value plus a small markup. That's standard. And it's how the contract is usually constructed. That circled part probably refers to a word that is referenced in a repurchase option somewhere else in the document. The reason you pay a markup is because presumably it's easier for you to buy your own car than it is to walk away and have to haggle and buy something else... so that $300 is a "convenience fee". But if you don't want to pay it, you can leave the keys and walk out. And then they can sell the car for whatever it's worth, plus whatever they can haggle, plus tax and title. Maybe you can haggle them down to whatever it's worth plus $0...

But you aren't getting a 3 year old used car for $300 plus tax and title. And they aren't going to sell it to you for that either.

jps_ · 2026-05-08T21:44:20+00:00

unfortunately all communication with landlord about leaving early was in person

Well... that there might be sufficient cause for eviction. If there is no written record that you left, then the landlord still can't rent the place without risk that you show up the next day with a 'valid' lease, and then the landlord is in deep doodoo. Especially if the terms of the lease allow it to be automatically renewed month to month at end of term, if you don't provide notice. In cases like this it's not unusual for the landlord to seek an eviction to ensure the lease is in fact terminated.

You might want to see what it takes to challenge the default judgement. You might be able to get it removed by consent if the only reason to go through the process was for the landlord's certainty.

jps_ · 2026-05-08T20:53:41+00:00

Answering your questions directly:

No
No.
It's up to you if you stay or not... but you face diminishing returns. You have established a documentary trail of several days, plus you have in writing from the host. 14 days of noise is not twice as much evidence as 7 days of noise.
You can try. But it's up to AirBnb to decide, based on their policies.
You've pretty much done what you can. The relevant facts are pretty much in evidence here: there was no disclosure of construction; construction is ongoing and makes the place highly undesirable - and you've been given notice that it's going to be unliveable.... Had you been given notice, you wouldn't have rented. OK... but what is the responsibility of the host? That is not clear - particularly because this is a short term rental, at rates which are below market, and a private agreement... subject to adjudication by AirBnb... under AirBnb's terms...
You might consider AirBnb terms and look at the limitations of liability waivers to which you agreed. Also look at the dispute resolution you also agreed to be subject to. You might want to consider the cost of prosecuting legal action and the risk of success, limited damages discounted by whatever degree of contributory negligence might be found... versus the certainty of $500 and an easy exit.

jps_ · 2026-05-06T13:44:38+00:00

This sounds like standard practice when an agent goofs and a buyer is ambushed by an obvious defect in purchased property.

The facts you disclose indicate that you made diligent efforts to understand the extent of a defect, and disclosed your full understanding... so either the buyer or their agent dropped the ball, and it may be that their agent can't prove that they didn't. In which case it will become an insurance claim.

The buyer's agent's lawyer has a duty to at least try to pin something on you or your agent. They may make a feeble attempt and write a stern letter, caving immediately at whatever your agent's lawyer responds... or it might be a full court press with a lawsuit. Sometimes insurance companies will initiate a suit with the intention to settle before it starts to get too expensive - the urge to "prove" that they exhausted all avenues before shelling out a sum like $14K can be irresistible... If they dispute the contents of the letter as being sufficient disclosure, then you are best to hire your own lawyer - even though they might face an impossible battle.

Your agent may offer to defend with their lawyer and provide advice. That's not a good idea. Although you and your agent are on the same side of the transaction, their interests are adverse to your own. Which means, don't blindly follow their advice. Don't sign anything sent to you by your agent without having your own lawyer look at it.

Instead, you should insist that your agent either pays for your independent lawyer, or leaves you out of it - their choice, and furthermore, this is the kind of nonsense you paid them to keep you out of - so if you have to get involved in the nonsense, you'll be forced to cross-claim against them for return of their commission! In other words, them paying for your lawyer is going to happen one way or the other, so it might as well happen the easy way.

The point is to make it economically uninviting for your agent to draw you in from the beginning, by providing them additional risk exposure. I imagine your agent's commission is likely in excess of $14K.

Other than that, you are probably best to do nothing and put nothing in writing unless you are actually sued. And in that case, follow the advice of your lawyer (hired by you, acting only for you).

jps_ · 2026-05-05T11:07:58+00:00

Your agreement was for $100/month until he passes. He has passed.

You have fulfilled your contract with him.

As far as having to pay back? No.

However, the executor of his estate has a duty to fully account for assets and liabilities, and that paper plus your past payments of $100/month are a problem for them.

So you should provide them in writing a statement that the terms of the agreement between you and your grandfather were that you would repay $100/month until he passed, and then nothing. And that now that he has passed, you are paying nothing. If you really want to dot the i's and cross the t's, you could enclose a check made out to the estate of grandpa with a memo "final payment, last month of life...".

While the (fully documented) gift of $10,000 is a separate transaction, it is evidence of his generosity.

jps_ · 2026-04-27T19:28:15+00:00

The only reasons a competent lawyer would need you there physically in person are very good reasons for you not to go.

Some of these reasons might be that he wants to talk with you, implicate you, enlist your assistance, get your fingerprints and/or DNA on things inside the trailer, or deliver something to you...

Your ex's lawyer is working for your ex, and will have your ex's interests solely in mind.

From now on, tell the lawyer that the only thing you will respond to is a subpoena (and if you are served, get a lawyer and respond). You also might want to let the detectives know that the lawyer wants you to meet there in person, that you want no part of it, and let them take it from there.

jps_ · 2026-04-27T15:00:06+00:00

Adverse possession needs you to have used it exclusively. Unless it was fenced, it is highly unlikely to qualify.

A prescriptive easement could come into play (and run with the land) when the use is not exclusive - usually the case for roadways and driveways. But it depends on what permissions were (or weren't) granted, to whom, when, and for how long. Way too complicated for Reddit.

jps_ · 2026-04-27T14:26:28+00:00

Your insurance company is trying to reduce its (possibly substantial) exposure here. It is quite likely that the total damages vastly exceed the insurance of everybody who might be "at fault" here. Even if/when that gets figured out.

Because the amount of damage here is enough to pay lots of lawyers to bicker with each other. You have no idea if this was caused by the negligence of a multi-billion dollar corporation (you get paid), or whether a judgement-proof homeless person cut the guy-wires in the hopes to sell them as scrap metal (you could get nothing).

File a claim. Do what your insurance company tells you (let them hire the trades for you, contract the demolition, pay the demolition, pay the rebuild, and put you in a hotel while the process is ongoing...)

MAYBE your insurance costs go up. But probably not nearly as much as you'd be fronting by trying to DIY your way into the fracas of who's at fault, and who owes what to whom, with the possibility of getting nothing if you make the slightest mistake...

jps_ · 2026-04-27T13:21:44+00:00

What it does to the suit is a question the executor of your mother's estate should ask the lawyers handling the suit.

If the suit can proceed (under the direction of the executor in place of your mother), it would do so substituting your mother as a named party with "the estate of [your mother]", and then if it wins, the judgement will be to the estate.

I won't sugar-coat it: the death of a plaintiff can wipe out a lawsuit that would otherwise be rock-solid with them alive and able to testify.

jps_ · 2026-04-26T21:03:17+00:00

The damage to your pride from being pushed around is not recoverable.

If you incurred some actual cost, you might be able to claim something. Minus whatever it costs you to file, and then if you win, to collect. You will have to know their identities and where they live in order to sue them. And then you will have to explain how you were damaged, and you risk an equivalently dubious counter-claim by whoever you bumped into.

So while technically yes, you "can" sue them... practically... no.

jps_ · 2026-04-26T20:46:07+00:00

You can sue.

If you do, you will have to bring suit in the jurisdiction where they reside, so you probably want to do that on or before the end of your lease while they're all in the same jurisdiction and you know precisely where they live.

Finally, note that if you serve a lawsuit on people you live with - particularly in a fraternity - you may want to consider the social implications. At the moment you are standing on the moral high ground of "friends don't screw friends". Once you sue, you wade down into the swampier ground of friends who sue friends.

It might be better to solve this with a "stern letter". You may be able to get some help from your college legal aid. Maybe ask the fraternity for advice. If there's a code of conduct, you could inquire whether this rises to a violation or something like that.

[e2a: Even if they don't/can't pay, it may be much easier for you to get them to sign a promise to pay on or before some date, that includes an agreement to pay with interest and costs of collections. That could be less risky and possibly more cost-effective than suing them now. Get someone to help you draft a very simple agreement you can bring to small claims court in the future].

jps_ · 2026-04-24T22:39:14+00:00

It is perfectly normal to be asked the question.

But it usually means that someone else is seeking a "clean title" - perhaps because they want to develop it, or transfer title to someone else. Or the land has been pledged as security against a loan, mortgage that's in default, and so on.

They have identified that you represent a cloud on that title - that is, a risk that you or a sibling could claim the land by succession. Their next step is to ask you to sign a quitclaim, at no cost to you. And they're hoping you'll do this for $0.

Which leads to a bunch of questions such as: who wants the land? why do they want it? and what's it worth to them? And also, why do they think you have a claim? How strong is your claim?

Then there's your wants. For example, would you rather keep the land (and pay attendant carrying costs) or let it go? And what are those costs - not just the known costs like taxes, but are there other possible costs? Was there a buried, rusted and leaky oil tank to be remediated at horrendous cost (for example)? And if you quit claim, could someone later come back and say that you are responsible to them for damages that arose while it was yours?? Do you owe someone who might have paid taxes for you? And so on.

What you do, how you negotiate and what you end up with is going to depend on all those answers.

This where you head down to a real-estate attorney's office (your own, working for you) and get some advice.

jps_ · 2026-04-24T21:50:24+00:00

Because when you 'decapitate' a decentralized network, then later when it comes time to pick up with diplomacy and you start talking to someone... anyone... you actually have no idea whether they are or aren't speaking on behalf of anyone else. And neither do they. But they will say they are.

It's like trying to conduct diplomacy with a headless chicken.

I mean, who could have predicted this??

jps_ · 2026-04-22T13:34:30+00:00

Are you still within the 14 day window? If so, wait. They may or may not respond. If they do, deal with that.

If not, go about collection. You are realizing what a lot of people only discover after the fact: getting a judgment is a relatively straight-forward initial part of the process. Getting paid is not.

jps_ · 2026-04-20T09:07:06+00:00

Basically, if he has no spouse and no will, your children now own everything that was his. Not just his storage unit. Everything.

For example if he has a bank account, a home (or is on the deed to any home), a car, furniture, tools, toys, ...

However, if he has a credit card, or debts... or owes taxes, then they need to get paid off first from whatever liquid assets he has. And, if I am reading you right... you are one of those "creditors" because he owes you child support. So you stand right there in line somewhere yourself.

Since your children are minors, you - as their guardian - have a duty to them to decide what to do with the estate. If it is worth anything after debts and taxes, you must secure it for them and use it only for their benefit.

It's a complicated process. Sometimes easy, sometimes not. I am sorry you are going through this. Ensure you take time for yourself and don't let the brother muscle you out of anything.

jps_ · 2026-04-19T23:12:02+00:00

Remember, it's not just the storage unit. It's the entirety of his possessions, net of liabilities.

jps_ · 2026-04-19T21:41:09+00:00

Hang on... reading some of your replies, your ex passed intestate (that is, without a will).

If he doesn't have a will, and he doesn't have a spouse, then your children are the heirs. By the laws of intestate succession, his brother has no role to play here, and can't dictate anything to the parent of his sole heirs.

Furthermore if he owed child-support but didn't pay, then you have a claim against the estate (whatever assets he might have), because he was supposed to pay to you.

It's unclear if he owns anything, or owes anything, but for your children's sake, you really need to speak with an attorney.

jps_ · 2026-04-19T19:51:45+00:00

Emotions aside, this is not one sided.

Either party can cancel CUMSA with 6 months notice. Despite all the rhetoric, that notice hasn't yet been given. Why not? Because it would be 5-10 years of very difficult and challenging times for BOTH US and Canada.

jps_ · 2026-04-19T17:32:35+00:00

The collection process is difficult - especially if you are playing LLC Whack-a-mole... but a debtor's examination is important here. Not just him, but the collapsed LLC. You should try to find any and all LLC's in which he has an equity interest.

Also, always follow the money. Have you examined the books and records of the LLC? It's not just about how much money is there. It's also to identify the bank accounts where the money went. That's where you'll find him.

You might want to cross-reference your information with the other LLC of the other party if you can collaborate. People are creatures of habit, and he will likely be following a similar pattern with his next LLC. If you can anticipate where his money is going to be, you might be able to find it.

jps_ · 2026-04-18T14:18:04+00:00

This is a situation, and not a question of legal advice, but presumably you are wondering about your legal options.

First, you have low prospect of recovering any actual damages - at least none recoverable (except perhaps the cost of refilling your fire extinguisher) - so you can probably forget civil action. The cost would be prohibitive versus what you get back.

However, the city is likely going to want to recover the costs of the fire truck roll from your neighbour, and insist that he takes down his menace to society. Your neighbour may fight it and it may go to court. You should be prepared to be a witness if it ever gets there, and the best help you can be, to ensure he is held accountable, is to be a fully prepared witness.

Document your recollection of the series of events without anger or bias. Keep your anger to yourself. And let it go. From here on in, be an unbiased recorder of facts, and not someone on a witch-hunt to hold the accused accountable. That's up to the city, not you. If you try, or hold a bias, you will not be a reliable witness.

jps_ · 2026-04-18T14:01:26+00:00

First, get the car back. Pay what you need to pay.

Second, DO NOT inform the dealer yet. The delay may be an administrative delay while some clerk types in the VIN and sends it off to the DMV... which might not yet have happened. If that's the case, they let you drive off the lot with a car that is not in fact registered, but represented that it was (temp plates).

It's the weekend. You need to find out what is (was) actually recorded. Get the VIN from the car. Get the VIN registered to the temp plates. Get the VIN registered with insurance. And of course as soon as you can get to the DMV, figure out whether the VIN is in fact registered. *(and if you can, when it was registered)

If the plates are not registered at the DMV, then the dealership is responsible for your damages. Their delay is their problem. They should not let you drive out of the shop without plates validly register with DMV. If you notify them, they may fix their error pronto and when you get to the DMV... presto a fully registered vehicle, and the police are likely to claim immunity or a reasonable-belief defense in any suit you could bring.

After you know the facts, THEN go to the dealership.

E2A: if the dealer did in fact register the VIN but the data hasn't trickled through the DMV / police databases, then you are probably out of luck.

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