After a year The house my fiancee,his brother,his brothers wife,her mother and I use to live in is trying to sue just my fiancee and I for 12 thousand dollars each what should I do?
Answer
In Ohio, much depends upon who did the damage and who is on the lease agreement. If the others that you metioned were on the lease agreement, then they are necessary parties to the lawsuit and the failure of the Plaintiff to include them is a defense that you have against the lawsuit.
If these other persons were guest, then there is case law that says that if you can show that the damages sought were caused by these other persons without your knowledge or consent, then you cannot be held responsible for them (the case is Allstate v. Dorsey).
If much of the damages arise out of unpaid rent, then if you can show the court that the landlord did not take the proper steps to mitigate his damages (trying to find another tenant to take your place) then these damages too will not be allowed.
They also need to give you credit for any security deposit that you gave them at the start of the tenancy.
You should file some sort of an answer with the court denying the charges. You will probably want to hire a local attorney to assist you with this.
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