I recently left a 3 year month-to-month situation on bad terms with my former roommate whose name appears on the lease.After discovering that shehad been overcharging me on the utility bill (among other things), I confronted her on the matter and was promised my money back. Shortly, I gave her 6 months notice that I would vacate the premises. In retaliation, she demanded that I leave the premises immediately. Things turned from bad to worse when she began using methods of intimidation to try to get me to move from harassing letters to throwing all my possessions from spaces that we shared ie. bathroom/ kitchen counter, hallway closets about the apartment damaging and destroying quite a number of valuable items. At times she physically disallowed me access to certain parts of the apartment pushing me around if I was persistent.
As far as I was concerned, since I was still paying rent and had not received a court order, I was entitled to same privileges as before. And as she still owed me a lot of money, I stood firm on this. I filed a complaint at the precinct but as I was not hurt, they could do nothing beyond recording my statements. I eventually took her to court for the money she owed me. The ruling was in my favour; however, she never paid me in full claiming the rest went towards the money I owed to her after I withheld my utility payment. Although this was true, as I was due to leave soon, I questioned why didn't simply deduct the fee from my security deposit. It was clear that there was no security deposit, or she did not intend to give it back to me. I refused to move out until the equivalent of my Sec. dep (1 month) was expended.
I have since left the apartment; however, she is now suing me for back payments in rent, property damages, and apparently theft. I am, in turn, counter suing her for the properties of mine that she damaged. As I never committed any of these charges and there is not a shred of evidence that can tie me to her accusations, she will have no choice but to lie to prove her case. I am planning to prove my case, by tainting her credibility and proving that she is only after my money. How does one prepare themself for such a case? What bits of info. should I be familiar with which pertain to my rights? I already know that she was in violation the moment she began damaging my property and denied me access to parts of the apartment especially considering I was still paying rent. I intend to use the police record, the letters of harassment, and also the receipts as proof of her deception over the years. I took pictures of the items she damaged and have friends who bore witness to some of the damage done to my properties. One friend even listened over the phone (unbeknownst to her) to a confrontation initiated by her.
Any suggestions?