Hi, I am suing my landlord over medical bills for mold grow.
I have pictures and my stained satin sheets from a leaky window they never fixed not to mention the elevators inspection date was out of date and was very scary to ride in.
We moved out a month before our lease was up--We gave a proper thirty day notice I even sent a letter after the move out date to try and settle. They wrote a letter back stating that I owed a full months rent plus a 500 cleaning bill. That place was very clean when I left it- I even took pictures to prove it wasn't left in a mess. I just am afraid I will choke when the judge wants me to state my case. I have everything filed properly but is there anything I should or shouldn't say to state my case clearly? I basically am trying to prove that the place was "unihabitable".

1) What date did your lease expire?
2) What date did you provide your vacancy notice?
3) What date did you move out and turn the keys in?

If the apartment was truly uninhabitable, then you should have contacted the State about the mold.

Your pictures may or may not do you any good. I took a tenant to small claims and had pictures showing damage to carpeting and walls; the judge awarded me 60% of my flooring bill and that was it. He based his judgment on his assumption that the carpeting "was already worn down 40%" yet he didn't retain any pieces of the carpeting and entered his judgment 2 months after viewing the carpet.

Can you prove when the photos were taken? Do you have witnesses to the mold? Do you have copies of correspondence with the landlord documenting the conditions and your requests that they be repaired. Did you have a local health inspector inspect the premises?

You MAY not have crossed all your Ts here. But its too late to do so. So if the judge asks if you did some of thiese things, you can only answer that you were not aware it was necessary.

As for stating your case, its simple:

Your honor, A mold condition developed in the apartment. This was reported to the landlord but never repaired. This condition resulted in a medical condition and forced us to move out early. I have documentation of the medical bills and diagnosis, copies of my correspondence with the landlord asking they repair the condition and documentation of the condition I left the apartment in. I am asking that the landlord reimburse me for the medical expenses, not be allowed to charge me for the final month's rent and return my security deposit.