oldvet-not sure, but my friends sure aren't sleeping any better after i showed them this story.

This same landlord has tried to keep security deposits before. She lost The attempt I know about. I wonder how many times she unlawfully was able to keep a deposit?

hahaha LOL @ Gilly =D
my friends live in these apartments, Although they look nice, some of the neighbors are pretty distasteful. 700$ and you move in. Cash in hand? Done. No checks, nothing, which can be nice, but in this case obviously has attracted a majority of people that cant get a regular place. My friends were in a bind finding a new place while the old lease expired, so the were happy. Then this building(next door to theirs) was deemed uninhabitable. Every time I got over there, its empty, but they say that people come on go sometimes-even though the landlords check the premises on a "regular" basis.

Sounds to me that the property owner got screwed as well. He still owes for the improvements, city has taken the land, no income from renters. This is just one big mess. While I agree she should have gotten the deposit, I would say that she could have waited a little while. I see everyone one getting hosed here BUT the courts and the lawyers.

Folks, she was awarded $36k in the judgment. The attorney told me it would have been tough to get the defendants to pay, and collections is a pain. Instead, they settled on $26k and got the money right away. The settlement was after the judgment, vacating the judgment and dismissing the case, just like Copperguy said. The defendants also agreed to the settlement because they wanted the judgment off their record for credit reasons. Hope this clears things up. -Ted

This was not a small claims case.

The original judgement was for just under $36K. My GUESS is that there was a settlement after the verdict in order to avoid the appeals process. That may be where the $26K number came from. The judgement was vacated and the case dismissed on 02/23. So, that looks like a settlement in lieu of appeals. The article here doesn't appear to accurately depict the actual outcome.

I don't think you can get a public defender when you're suing somebody. I wouldn't get an attorney for small claims. That's the point behind "small claims".

I have rented all my adult life, I have never had the desire to own. I agree that Janesville is FULL of slumlords! From all the renting I have done, I recognize phone numbers in the paper of places I had either looked at or rented and they are still owned by the same slumlord. Slumlords expect you to live substandard so they can have their house payment made each month and money to blow on fancy cars, believe me, I have seen it. As for this woman, she got what she deserved, BUT again it is small claims, right? So she will probably never see the money anyways. JMO

Attorney fee $ 31,500.00
Costs and Disbursements $ 3,184.84
Docketing fee $ 5.00
Judgment amount $ 690.00

She would have done better getting a public defender in small claims and get that "doubling" of $650. This is from wccap. It seem SHE didn't get squat but some lawyer can buy something LARGE!

Did this guy keep all the OTHERS' deposits as well? Did the others clean? Just curious.

Okay why is she awarded $26,000???????
This is small claims case so lawyer fees shouldn't be $25,000.

carlitos".There is no way it cost 650 to clean an apartment" wanna bet! I have seen some absolute filth in my time! Did you see the pics of the nasty bath in the Beloit apartments that had to be shut down? That filth didn't all come from "mold" issues!!! A new toilet would cost about $100. Cannot clean that toilet EVER.
Also normal wear and tear cannot be charged.
Carlitosway- I cannot believe you didn't move into a clean apartment and did all that work with your own money. They should have reimbursed that money if it was that bad. That stinks(of urine!).
One place had an icky rug so I bough a piece and tossed it over the top and took it with me when I left. She was such in a hurry to get new people in there she didn't want me to shampoo. That was nice. I wonder if new people ever got a clean carpet?
I would have gotten a letter from the city stated I cannot go into the apartment. I am confused on how the belonging were able to be retrieved with out going in though! Maybe this was the minimal amount of time they would let you in?

I had a landlord that had owned many apartments and seems I was taken as a young tenant. I did CLEAN. He said the fridge wasn't cleaned well enough. His VERY old mother would do the cleaning . He wouldn't return my $300 ish deposit. He also charged me to fix a hole in a stairway wall. Said "I" did it. Unit of 8 right inside front first floor doors. I lived on second floor. He said cause I had a party he was sure it was me. WHATEVER!

janesvillean- "reasonable amount."

I still don't think a lawyer took THIS many hours of his time for this case.

janesvillean: Good info here. I'll file this should I know anyone who ever needs it.

My hubby and I rented from unscrupulous landlords about 8 years ago. It was a duplex on Hyacinth. The basement would flood with raw sewage every few weeks, and we lost many items. I talked with the current renters recently and the problem is continuing to this day! (tree roots are causing the flooding) These landlords(husband and wife team) refused to give us back our security deposit because their hired help (their daughter) thought we left the place too dirty. We actually took pictures upon leaving that show we left the place meticulous! We went so far as to get a lawyer involved, but then we let the matter drop. Wish I would have followed through as Peggy did. Now unfortunately some other schmuck is up to his knees in doo doo at this rental. Shame on these landlords!

Security Deposits in Wisconsin
"What if I don't receive my deposit or list of deductions?
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"If the landlord does not return the full deposit or a detailed list of deductions within 21 days after you move out, you can sue the landlord for double the amount of the deposit plus court costs and reasonable attorney fees (Wis. Stat. 100.20(5))."
http://www.tenantresourcecenter.org/hous...
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Wis. Stat. 100.20(5)
"Any person suffering pecuniary loss because of a violation by any other person of any order issued under this section may sue for damages therefor in any court of competent jurisdiction and shall recover twice the amount of such pecuniary loss, together with costs, including a reasonable attorney’s fee."
This statute covers all consumer protection lawsuits.
http://www.legis.state.wi.us/statutes/st...
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Note in particular that under Wisconsin law, "It is illegal to deduct for routine carpet cleaning from the security deposit" (TRC). Under Wis. Stat. 704.29 deposits may only be withheld for "waste" (in this sense, trashing an apartment beyond normal wear and tear), neglect, or other material breach of the lease, and for unpaid rent given certain conditions which it really takes a lawyer to suss out. Normal cleaning is NOT covered, and if as it appears in this case a lease includes a clause that violates state law, it invalidates the entire rental agreement and eliminates the possibility of recovery.
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Why is the award so big? Well, it's automatic under state law for this class of cases. Why would that law exist? The point is that the lease and landlord should comply with Wisconsin law _to begin with_. It isn't good enough to violate the law and then have a cheap way to pay off the consumer/tenant. That lets people shrug off the law.
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I don't know if this landlord is a sleazeball under normal conditions, but in this case, he was pretty much a stubborn idiot. The law of the state in which he operates his business by choice is clear.

I also had trouble with a landlord, when I moved out of an Apt. in Elkhorn,he was upset that I did not stay longer then 3 months, and so held my deposit of $350....said I did damage to the hallway walls when moving out, had so many other things going on at the time, figured it was not worth the time and hassle to fight for it....

I believe that the large majority of landlords treat their tenants fairly and dont seize deposits without good reason. I've had two good landlords here and have nothing bad to say of them. I just hope this case sends a message to those other Janesville landlords who do practice this kind of sleaze.

* excuse

For all you that think this is to much of a settlement figure out how much they gain with multiple apartments and not returning the security. For any ezcuse they can come up with. And THIS MAY SEND A MESSAGE . In MY OPINION the negative posts just maybe one of those property owners/managers and maybe does the same thing and fear losing their stolen money

OnlineNews - IMO - a perfectly said post.

safe enough for movers, safe enough for cleaners.

$26,000.00 really ? Seriously ? Come on people.

The only way i believe a landlord can keep your deposit is for damages and cleaning,they cannot keep it for unpaid rent unless you agree.There is no way it cost 650 to clean an apartment. I have went thru this many times and I think it is wrong I have rented most of my life and that is many years I have gotten my security back once and I have cleaned and fixed everything in the apartment upon vacating. Many many times I have had to clean and paint my places before i could move in. The one I am in now I had to paint, shampoo carpets,( some carpets after shampooing would not come clean after 8 times and had to be replaced.) tear out a cat sprayed carpet and I put down tile in kitchen as the lynolium was awful. I took pictures when I moved in and have the on memory card for move out purposes. All of this at my expense as the property manager (AKA slum manager) Said they don't reimburse for anything. There are many landlords and property managers that do this and it is sad when people have limited income. I have always been praised for the improvements I have made but then the security is always held in majority of my places. Your home is what you make it but some people know the reputation of rentals and not getting security back and usually don't clean as why? they are keeping sec. dep. and are getting well paid to do it theirself. Reguardless I will not leave my place unclean.....Unless of course a situation like this article which then is beyond my control.

I am glad they listed the Landlord in this article. That is just beyond stupid. You can't go back in your apartment because it is not safe... But you better clean it even if it costs you your life!

When I was a young man working for a company who transferred me many times over the years, I always had to rent a apartment. Needless to say I would spend days cleaning everything and each time when I would go to get my deposit, the landlord would always come up with something so I would lose my deposit. One place there was a stain on the carpet going to my apartment, which was noted in the contract when we both signed it. When I left she used that excuse and claimed I put it there. I showed her the contract but she refused to look at it and I never got my deposit because I had to move to next city on my new job. Landlords in my opinion suck.

Janesville will win this one

I suppose the next question would be : what was the landlord's definition of "clean"
with the city declaring it off limits, you cant just go in and clean things...
My last apartment in Illinois We painted and cleaned the Carpets ( had a company do it) and were told that because we left one sealed trash bag that was full of papers - no rotting trash,
they were going to keep half the deposit so they could "re-clean the carpets" as our "rental machine efforts" did not pass inspection. We took them to court, their lawyer almost fainted when we presented the photos, video and receipts for everything we did. The judge declared that not only would we get our deposit back, the land lord had to reimburse us for the paint and materials + out lawyers fee.
The pics and video was the deciding factor.

If the apartment was declared uninhabitable, why would she pay to have someone clean it?

I have been in similar situations. Recently I moved from a place in Beloit and was paid up until the 2nd Friday in February which was the 12th. I moved out the 8th and the landlord took 128 dollars from our security deposit for 7 days of rent.. when our agreement said the second week of february. When I called him he never returned my phone calls. Looks like I'll be going to court for my trouble and asking for double myself! I have all the proof.

I know firsthand of landlords just taking what they want, and also, they charge obscene amounts of money on unneccesary repairs. It is just unfair to tenants for landlords to do this kind of thing and I think it is ridiculous for them to get away with it!!

I hope more people stand up for their rights as a tenant. Also, if you need to know more about your rights as a tenant this is the link

http://datcp.state.wi.us/cp/consumerinfo...

It helped me!

If you look at the court record, the landlord's attorneys withdrew. That suggests to me that the landlord refused to take their advice to settle, probably for a much lower amount (say, four figures). The tenant's attorney was probably working on spec, which is normal in this type of action, and taking roughly 1/3 of the award whatever it would be. Because the landlord insisted on taking this as far as trial, the award was at the discretion of the judge, probably based on a percentage of the tenant's attorney's nominal fee.
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Again, this is normal for civil actions, and has little to do with Wisconsin. If you lose a lawsuit, expect the other side's attorney to move to have you cover the court costs.
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It would make no sense, Sandman, to have a legal system where you could sue and win only the dollar amount ($650) and yet owe your attorney thousands of dollars. That would close the courts to all but the wealthy. (I know. To proponents of tort reform, that isn't a bug, it's a feature.)

I wouldnt call the landlords slum lords, the apartment building was nice. The landlords were pretty poorly advised to keep her security deposit and they paid the price. I hope they dont succeed in making the city pay for an act of nature.

It hasn't yet fallen off the cliff two-and-one-half years after the incident! If she could hired movers who were allowed to enter it, then she should have done similarly and cleaned it herself, or hired people to do so. Seems pretty simple.

The building does not appear to have been poorly built or maintained--nor is there any claim that it was--and the owners were certainly not the cause of the landslide. Didn't the city approve this plan, issue the building permits, and inspect this property prior to allowing residency?

While I understand applaud her efforts to get her security deposit back, a $26,000 award for a $650 deposit appears (at least by what is documented in this article) to be opportunistic, excessive and undeserved in what amount to a small claims court matter.

Tenant protection is fine, but this state has went overboard in doing so and it's surprising that anyone wants to own rental property here anymore. Just watch--by the time its all said and done, the real estate TAXPAYERS of Janesville (and that does not include renters, at least directly) will ultimately pay the price for this fiasco!

Good for you Peggy. These slum lords will see what it's all about when they are burning in hell!

i dont have a comment about the amount she got for judgement,but id like to say that more tenants should take their landlords on,ive lived here for almost ten years,an have never heard so many people complain about their landlords,not all tenants are justified,but the majority are,an afraid to say anything in fear of losing there place to live or other consequences,if more people had this womans courage,there wouldnt be so many slumlords in this town,an its full of them.also there are bad tenants.

OnlineNews, I have no idea where you are, but in Wisconsin security deposits are the property of the tenant and failure to return the deposit without cause will subject you to double damages, which is intentionally punitive as a deterrent. And the landlord knew, or should have known, that pursuing this in court would make him liable for her attorney's fees should she win. That's the way the civil courts work. If you make it costly for the underdog to sue, then nobody will be able to sue because the dominant party can simply outspend them.

Very well played Gilly.

Gilly: That is the funniest comment I have read in weeks! Thanks for the laugh. Meanwhile, I am glad to see the court display common sense in this case. Too many landlords assume one's security deposit is just their's to keep.

The point here is to hit these people, who think that they are above the law, right where it hurts! I'm totally glad that she got what she got. As far as I'm concerned, I think she should have gotten more, or at the very least, the company should have gotten a big fine so they don't do it again.

So she could hire people to move her things from the apartment, but could not hire people to clean it? I agree that the landlord should never had charged her, but a $26,000 award over a $650 dispute? The cost of lawyers and court is out of control.

Good for her. What slimeballs she had for landlords. Too many of those around.