Richard Leigh Boyer’s Answers

Mr. Chen is right, of course, but if you can establish that your sellers received notice of the impending special assessment before they sold you the property, and failed to disclose it, you should ask them to rebate the $1,200. If this is the first notice to the homeowners you are probably without remedy. Since it's "only" $1,200, I wouldn't make a federal case out of it. Oh, the joys of living in a property governed by an HOA...

Frankly, if I were you, I'd do whatever it takes to get rid of the bed bugs ASAP, and worry about splitting up the cost later. The habitability requirement is diminished if the tenant causes the lack of habitability. Unless the whole building is infested, this is probably something you and your infested roommate need to work out.

You are entitled to have a habitable property. You should definitely ask the landlord, in writing, to fix the plumbing. Give the LL a reasonable opportunity (all things being equal, 30 days is usually considered reasonable) to repair the problems that make the house uninhabitable. If the LL doesn't fix the problems in that time, you can make the repairs and deduct the cost from your rent. The landlord cannot evict you for complaining about habitability problems.

"Am I going to jail?" is a question I hope I never have to ask. But if my freedom was at risk I would run as fast as I could to the best criminal defense lawyer I could afford. You don't want to rely on free advice from the internet. You need a lawyer who can look at all your evidence, hear all the facts, and provide an informed opinion. If you truly are at risk of jail time, your lawyer will know the steps you need to take to avoid or minimize such jail time. If "they" have filed charges, "...

Look to your written contract for the way to terminate the contract. If it doesn't say, then send him a letter, certified, return receipt requested, stating that you are terminating the contract based on his failure to communicate and that you demand a refund of your entire deposit within 30 days. Do not pay him anything else, and immediately hire another planner, so you don't foul up your wedding plans. Document everything with the bad planner. If he doesn't return your deposit in the thirty...

I don't know what "filing fees" your landlord wants to charge you for, but in a rental situation there shouldn't be any, unless there is a local ordinance in Perris that I'm not aware of. In addition, the rental agreement must spell out any fees or costs the landlord intends for you to pay. If this filing fee isn't in the lease (rental agreement), then he can't charge it. And, no, he can't throw you out and change the locks if you refuse to pay it. That is called forcible eviction and is...

Just call his office and ask for him. You'll probably get his secretary or paralegal. Ask that you be emailed or faxed a copy of the proof of service indicating when service was perfected on you. No letter, certified or otherwise is required.

You can dismiss the complaint just as to you against any or all defendants. However, if there is a cross-complaint against you, that will continue unless you reach an agreement with the cross-complainant(s) to dismiss you. In addition, and this is really important, you must get any defendants who have appeared to agree, in writing, to waive any costs against you and bear their own attorneys fees.

Absolutely doable. The question is what are the downside risks if you blow it? If your worst case scenario is a $10 k judgment, than you may be smart not to hire a lawyer, because you'll spend more than that in legal fees. On the other hand, even a small judgment can affect your credit and your ability to obtain employment. You would probably be money ahead by not hiring a lawyer and paying a bit more to settle, to avoid wage garnishment and an adverse judgment.

Well they can't forcibly evict you, so regardless of the notice they give you, it will take them at least 30 days to effect an unlawful detainer eviction, probably more like 40. So, if you are real determined to stay, you probably can. However, you and the good church folks should sit down and work things out. You don't want your church to have to sue you to get you to leave. You won't be very popular around there if they have to do that.