My EXroomates wanted me out, so they paid my fee to break the lease, can they sue me for these fees+?

[roche]

My old roomates and I did not get along, mostly they wanted another female roomate(I am male) so they essentially just pushed me out by mistreating me. The leasing company wanted my last months rent + a fee for me to sign off the lease. I had already moved out, and told them if they wanted me gone, they could take over my rent and/or find thier new roomate to take my place, otherwise I wasnt paying for a place I wasnt living, and I would be ok with the eviction process(which would involve all four of us) Yes, technically I was leveraging them with the fact that they wanted to continue living there and I wanted to leave, but believe me when I say that one of the girls actually put her hands around my neck and began choking me, so it was neccessary. One of them also text me saying (if I didnt pay these fees, she would "Have me ****** up, dont **** with me" was her exact statement. so I moved for my safety, told them I would not pay for an appartment I wasnt living in, and either they could solve the situation and pay the rent, or be evicted right along with me, they chose to pay, and the landlord and leasing comapny signed me off the lease in thier office. Now the old roomates are filing a small claims case suing me for that months rent and the severance fee. They caused this whole situation, and exasserbated it, and now they are suing me for money I told them I WOULD NOT pay, and if they wanted me out, that was thier decision, can they do this? I never signed anything saying I would pay them any money at any point, is there any way they can win, or should I not stress about it? Please help!

[culley96]

Do you have a police report supporting your claim that you were assaulted and in fear for your safety? If not, you are going to have a difficult time proving this. It is going to be your word against theirs - and there is a bias against men when it comes to situations like this.

I'm sorry, but they can definitely sue you for these fees and there's a pretty good chance they are going to win. You can tell them that you were good with everyone getting evicted, but you aren't allowed to make that unilateral decision. And you can't leverage them to break the lease. And they have the absolute right to pay to protect their credit and rental history - and come after you for the money they are out.

I know it's not what you want to hear, but one month's rent and a lease breaking fee is pretty reasonable. It doesn't matter that you can claim that they caused the problem UNLESS you can prove that you were constructively evicted. I'm sorry, but I don't see you being able to meet this burden unless you have a police report for the assault.

RESPONSE TO YOUR PRIVATE MESSAGE: I'm sorry but it doesn't make any difference. Unless you got an agreement from them IN WRITING that in exchange for you moving out they would assume the financial liability for getting you off of the lease and would waive any additional rent, you are almost certainly going to be liable for what they are suing you for. It is not enough for you to say: I'm not going to pay. You have a contract with your roommates and the property management company. You cannot breach that contract without a written agreement and expect that you aren't going to have some financial responsibility. If they really wanted you out, they would have signed an agreement waiving your financial liability. But you can't make a unilateral contract by simply informing them that you would move out but you wouldn't pay for any of the costs associated with you moving out.

And I'm sorry but your witnesses to the alleged assault are not going to help you. In a roommate vs. roommate situation, judges are simply not interested in descriptions of assaults unless you have a police report or unless the witnesses are completely independent third parties who didn't know any of you before they saw what happened.

I would suggest that you send them an offer to settle that reminded them that when you agreed to move out you specifically told them that you WOULD NOT pay them any money. I would also remind them that they made the apartment unhabitable based on their behavior and conduct and remind them that they constructively evicted you by physically assaulting you. I would offer to give them a refund for the severance fee for settlement purposes ONLY just to avoid the irritation of making you and your witnesses go to court. But tell them that since they constructively evicted you, physically assaulted you, AND you specifically informed them that if you were forced to move out you would not pay any fees for future rent, you are confident that the judge will dismiss their lawsuit.

(This is a TOTAL bluff, BUT they might fall for it. Additionally, this letter might be helpful as evidence you can give to the judge about your claim that you were assaulted and essentially evicted. If the judge is feeling generous AND doesn't like your ex-roommates, s/he might be inclined to rule in your favor - or at least split that severance fee by a third and only make you pay part of the judgment.)