13 September, 2007 | Leave a Comment
My lawsuit against my French landlady is finally taking off. It’s taken a while to get going, not because my lawyer was dragging her feet but because I was. I just didn’t want to deal with this. I didn’t want any more drama. I also fear the French courts will rule against me because I’m American or because of some ridiculous French legal technicality. I still think this could happen, but I’m moving ahead with the lawsuit anyway. Did I mention that the weasel who runs the apartment rental agency forwarded my lawyer a whole list of people this landlady has previously screwed over?
My lawyer just sent me a draft copy of the complaint for my approval. It’s all in French, but I understood it. [I've noticed recently how much my French has improved!] I was literally stunned to read the complaint she drafted, particularly this:
Le préjudice subi par la demanderesse, directement imputable à la mauvaise foi de la propriétaire qui a apparemment voulu profiter de la situation d’infériorité dans laquelle se trouvait Mademoiselle [Anglofille], étudiante étrangère, doit être réparé à hauteur de 5.000€.
This essentially states that I suffered damage at the hands of the apartment owner, who acted in bad faith because she wanted to take advantage of my inferior status as a foreign student. The apartment owner must make up for this…in the amount of 5,000 euros! This is equal to $7,000/£3,500.
Throughout the complaint, my lawyer refers to the abusive treatment I suffered and explains that this directly contributed to my having to leave Paris earlier than expected. In addition to the 5,000€ and the return of my deposit and guarantie, she is also asking for more money in accordance with some French civil code. I have no idea what this means, but the upshot is that I am suing this witch for nearly $13,000/£6,500. When I read this, I was filled with glee. I know I’ll be lucky just to get the deposit and guarantie back, but on principle I really appreciate what my lawyer is doing. And I bet the landlady will have a heart attack when she reads this. Good. Maybe she’ll die!
It’s hard to believe that I ran into not one, but two of these slimy French apartment owners within the space of a few months. At least the second one gave me my money back, though he did try to throw me into the street at midnight on New Year’s Eve. Speaking of this loser, my boxes are still stored in the basement of his friend’s apartment building. I planned to go to Paris last week to arrange for their shipment to London, but I canceled my trip because I was tired and didn’t feel well. So instead, I found some guy on the internet who is going to pick up my stuff on Saturday and drive it back to London for me. He goes back and forth between Paris and London moving people’s boxes. He’s probably a drug trafficker or a terrorist. I imagine there’s a 50-50 chance he’ll just steal my stuff and disappear. To be honest, I really don’t care. I just want the Paris chapter of my life to be over. How I ever made it through that difficult time I’ll never know. To see part of my story written down in a legal document has given me a sense of validation, so I guess the lawsuit is worth it for that if nothing else.
Anglofille said @ 12:46 pm | paris life |
- Comments RSS | TrackBack URI
-
Lillie Says:
September 13th, 2007 at 5:09 pmGlad to hear that your action is underway.
I hope the other tenants who were swindled will proceed with legal action of their own. Once your attorney wins your case, perhaps she can represent the others.
-
I’m actually quite irked at those people. If they had stood up to this apartment owner, then perhaps I wouldn’t be in this situation.
-
kick some ass!
-
Congratulations!
BTW - Check your e-mail; I’ll be in in London soon
-
Bonne chance with le lawsuit
-
Thanks ladies!
-
Rebecca Says:
September 15th, 2007 at 5:15 amBonne chance from me as well! Perhaps if you show this horrible woman what you’re made of, she’ll think twice before trying to scam anyone else over.
Then again… some people are just born stupid.
-
And when will you get the result of the action, Anglofille ?
-
In November, I hope!
Sorry to hear about all of the sadness. I think watching/knowing the people you love suffer is the...
