I won a judgement for a place I intended on moving into. After signing a lease I discovered the true conditions of a room for rent. There was dog feces and urine everywhere, including stains. He went through great lenghts to cover it up by leaving all the doors and windows open to mask the smell. I took him to court, he had 1k of my money 600 rent and 400 deposit. The day after I physically moved in I noticed these conditions and advised him , I can not live like this and I moved out the following day. Gave deposit on Sept 25 and moved in on OCT 3rd and moved out on OCT 5th. I took him to court and the judge ruled in my favor. He pro rated the amount and owes me 780. I was suing for 2500 since I had to stay in a hotel and was hard to find arrangements that fast with a dog. I spent 1500 for one month to stay in a hotel.
My question is " If he appeals it can he be held Liable for more money or the cost of transportation since I do not reside in the state anymore? I live 12 hours drive from there. I already incurred a extra 250 dollars to stay there two more weeks to handle this case??

Hello N:

Other than filing fees, you cannot collect any other costs involved in your lawsuit, like lost wages or gas money.

excon

That's not good, This guy is playing the game maybe he has done this before. I should have dropped a bag of quick cement in his bathtub, that would have been about the same as what I lost.

You sued him and got a judgment. If he appeals, all he can appeal is the judgment. If he wants to sue you for more money, he has to file a countersuit.

He lost the counter suite, My issue is I live 12 hours from there, I do not want to waste a day pay, gas or flight and hotel to go back to court again.

If he files an appeal it must be on a matter of procedure, not because he didn't like the verdict.

So it may be that you don't have to appear.

A friend of mine who is going to school to be a lawyer told me the same thing. Thanks for your input Scott.