Denied.

The judge denied my tenant's Order to Show Cause.

Unlike last time, we had a courtroom all to ourselves. As of 9:15, the tenant did no show up. The judge was already seated, my lawyer was already on the speaker phone, and I was seated at the plaintiff's bench. As the judge was researching whether or not the tenants were served, my tenant and her child walked in (18 minutes late).

The judge invited her to her bench and swore us both in. His first question was directed to the tenant, asking her why the court should grant her request. Her points were, mainly:

• She does not have a job, and her boyfriend (who is also on the lease, but has not showed up for either court session) was "out of work for a month".
• They had to pay off other fees, including tickets and "a warrant to keep him out of jail"
• The remainder of their money went towards the security deposit of their new apartment, which they will start renting Sept. 1^st. Until then, they have nowhere to live.
• She "is receiving $30k" in a settlement in about 2 weeks. The money will be directly deposited into her account.

When she was finished, the lawyer asked her for the name of her lawyer who was handling the settlement. She couldn't name one. He then asked her for the name of the lawyer that was representing the other side, she couldn't name one.

Then, my lawyer asked if he could respond to her points. He said:

• My client has been more than patient with the tenants. He sent them notice regarding the dogs before I became involved, after which I sent them formal notice.

• Her dogs are vicious and dangerous. The neighbors are scared, and if left in the unit could very well hurt somebody.
• My client's water bill has been four times the normal cost since they moved in. I'm afraid that they've maliciously left it on since moving in.
• They have been completely incommunicado, unresponsive to my client's inquiries until "judgment day" is imminent, at which point they suddenly are interested
• I ask the court not to interfere with my client's legal rights, when he's been toocompassionate and they've made no effort to remedy the situation.

At this point, the judge made his decision. His points were:

• If they were really getting the settlement, there are many places they could go with the judgment to get an advance (if they could prove that they're going to get the money). Why haven't they made an effort?
• These dogs are dangerous, and they've made no effort to temporarily move them somewhere else.
• The water situation is troubling. Are the tenants just running the water? At this point the tenant interjected that this was the first time she had heard about the water. In fact, I had told her boyfriend multiple times about it. There is no evidence of leaks, he simply said "the faucet drips", even though it has been replaced.

There was a back and forth about how she had nowhere to go. The judge asked her if she had family in the area, she nodded. Then he announced that he was denying her request. She quickly got up and left, with her daughter. The lawyer hung up, and the judge excused us.

Obviously, I was pleased with the verdict. I can not imagine that it would have ended any other way. They've made absolutely no attempt to pay their rent, or to keep me up to date on their situation. This has been a learning experience, and now I know several things to look out for. First and foremost, I am going to run criminal and credit checks before signing the lease next time.

Now, I just have to wait until Tuesday at noon, at which point I will inspect the apartment. My lawyer recommended bringing a digital camera and video camera, in case there are problems we can use that later (pressing criminal and/or civil charges).

More wait.