Tenant Lawsuit From Hell!

[Alex Stewart]

I have a tenant that moved into a small residential property of mine and even though we had rehabbed it, apparently we screwed up and didn’t get the proper permits pulled (honest mistake, whoops).

Subsequently, the city determined the home shouldn’t have been occupied until we went through the permitting process again and therefore we asked the tenant to leave the premises indefinitely.

After they left, we got a letter from an attorney the tenant retained demanding around $30k for pain and suffering, legal fees, moving costs, etc.

I took the advice of my attorney and we went to court over it, as they literally wouldn’t settle, and at the time,it seemed like $30k for a house for a $800 a month house was highway robbery at best.

This all started in 2017 believe it or not, and we are still no closer to having an actual day in court. Our case keeps getting punted or small conferences between the judge and attorneys happens to try and encourage settlement.

Again, to this day they will not settle and are demanding $30k plus additional fees now too.

This stupid case has given me endless heartburn over the years and I simply want to be done I think.

What should I do here?