the department of agriculture , trade and consumer protection, has strict guidelines for landlords entering rental units, they wont care if its a mistake or not. they can still receive a fine.all the tenant has to do is make a complaint.

tc403, hannah said "it isn't unlawful if he had the right one". She didn't say that entering the wrong apartment was lawful.

She also said it was a "mistake". It was a non-criminal mistake, it was a mistake of negligence which is a cause of action in a civil suit, not criminal court.

Hannah you are wrong it is AGAINST THE LAW. Gazettefan is correct it is negligence as he/she stated. Their is a trust issue here. Landlords have rights, but so do tenants! There are rules and laws for evicting someone. In this case this guy was not getting evicted. It doesn't matter if "Joe Blow" was properly served or not, Mr. Peterson was not. He like everyother tenant out there have a right to being served notice at any time when the landlord or his maintence man is going to enter his personal residence. I believe the law states he is to be given 24 hour notice. That "little" mistake cost that tenant alot of distress. He has grounds to sue. That tenant like all other tenants have the RIGHT to feel that where they live is safe from destruction. The have the RIGHT and should believe that the place that they reside in will be monitored and cared for properly. They trust that the landlord and who the landlord employees will make sound judgements regarding the property that their tenants reside in. This was a HUGE MISTAKE. If this mistake was made on you, I wonder how trusting you would be in continuing to live there or anywhere else. That is why there are laws. To protect people for making those kinds of mistakes.

Also in a civil suit, the plaintiff can seek and be awarded punitive damages (punishment) based on the defendant's irresponsible behavior.

latinmami..., it is against the law, it's negligence. Not criminal negligence, though. But it is a kind of negligence that allows the aggrieved party to sue the wrongdoer. Plain negligence is a civil wrong and is subject to a civil suit for monetary damages.

it should be against the law to not make sure you have the right apartment, that was a lot of stuff that guy lost for no reason especially if he is a good paying tenant. that is a HUGE mistake if you ask me, if you have that many apartments to manage that you can't even keep them straight then i say it is time to get some extra help so no one else has to suffer due to negligence

Yes, it wasn't a crime. It was negligence -not making sure they went to the right apartment. The tenant suffered damages and has a legal cause of action. If the owner doesn't volunteer to make the tenant whole again, the tenant can sue.

It would be good public relations for the landlord to voluntarily correct the situation.

All the crazy law suits we hear about are reported as though they are true or successful. The ones with any truth to them are lost causes and many of them are toss out of court immediately.

Like when that habitual criminal burglarized the doctor's house: The doctor shot Prochaska and he sued the doctor; the case was thrown out of court.

I'm sure the landlord's insurance will cover it all. If he actually cares about the tenant, he will give him a year of free rent for the trouble he's caused.

I would have to agree with a number of you. I am not a "sue" happy person, but the action that the landlord allowed his employee is AGAINST THE LAW. Contacting a person at the correct address is a MUST before entering any residence. While the landlord is willing to compensate his renter, it doesn't say in the article anything about the anxiety that the renter suffered at the prospect of being robbed. Nor has it suggested that the landlord will help the renter with the possible loss of identity that could arise now or in the future. A good question I would ask Milton man HOW WOULD YOU FEEL IF SOMEONE ENTERED YOUR HOME AND TOOK YOUR PERSONAL ITEMS? WHAT WOULD YOU DO? There are reasons for laws. Unlawful entry into a home is BIG ISSUE! I certainly would be contacting a lawyer on the Renter's Rights.

um... yeah i would be a little upset if i came home and someone threw all my stuff away. i think i would find a new place to live, they need to give a free years rent

(A link for those who are interested in understanding "internet language": http://thor.prohosting.com/~arema/downlo... )

::POOF:: = I'm Gone

Charter came to our house while we were gone and our remodeler let them in. They repossessed our Charter cable equipment. We came home and discovered the equipment gone, called Charter and after escalating this to a Manager, they discovered they were at the wrong address. In fact we pay early routinely. Charter reinstalled our equipment on a Sunday morning before the Packer playoff game.

Wow, this immediately made me think of the song by 2NU called "Her Name"... except this case doesn't sound like a conspiracy.

localboy...., what do you think products and services would be like without the ability to sue?

And be polite to the others here, you're not fooling anyone.

I would hate to think what would have happened if this guy had a beloved pet in his apartment.

Holy cow, I would definitely file a lawsuit if someone entered my apartment without my knowledge (even if it was the owners of the apartment complex - they should at least make more than one attempt to contact you if they need to enter your apartment) and threw everything away! Sorry - but I think a big fat lawsuit is the only way to make they never made a mistake that idiotic ever again! Maybe it's time for some new policies at this apartment complex and people who are more competent. That was a colossal mistake!

A lawsuit is unnecessary, but if I were that landlord I would offer the tenant at least six months free rent - preferably a year.
Whoever ripped off the cash and credit cards needs to be dealt with and possibly charged with theft.

This whole empty apartment episode was designed to let all of us economically beleaguered "subjects" know what our lives will be like in a year or so when both the Repulicans, Democrats, and all their ruling handlers wrap up the looting of the United States. I hope there will be some cardboard boxes left in our dumpsters for us to live in.
Oh, stop pouting all you two-party apologists out there in cyber land...I am just kidding...like the captain of the Titanic said, "Every thing will be just fine, go back to your sleeping quarters."
Bob Keith
cooldadiomedia.com

Hmmm, kinda reminds me of what the headline would have read when I left my ex-husband! However, I did leave his clothes. Hope his girlfriend liked sleeping on the floor! LOL!!!!!!! But seriously, if that happened to me I would be more than furious! I'm in the middle of moving now and it would have taken my landlord about 5 dumpsters to fill!

Money can not replace certain objects. Also, as a previous poter pointed out, this man may have had his identity taken.

OMG ROFL BRB GTG

A month early for April Fool's Day.... Wow, that sucks.

OMG isn't age related, it's part of online lingo. I use it and my pic is next to "Ancient Relic" in the dictionary. ;p

OMG I totally use OMG all the time, and I'm an adult...physically. :)

I read about this last night in the Wisconsin State Journal. Apparently, according to that article, "dumpster divers" were waiting and got their hands on a lot of this renter's stuff.

The landlord should also be in touch with the people that cleared out the apartment. It seems they have padded their pockets with some cash and credit cards. I'd be reading my statements closely...and let's hope he called and canceled them right away.

The landlord is *offering* to fully compensate the tenant, but that offer does not legally release him from a small claims action, or (for example) a party to identity theft lawsuit.
.
The landlord better hope his offer is sufficient to settle the matter. Me, I'd be offering him a bigger/better apartment to boot.

Who is the landlord?

You folks are debating with a child...at least I dont think adults use "OMG".

You only sue in the event that you don't receive just compensation. It states clearly in the last line of the story that he will be fully compensated. You're right localboy-this is why everything costs so much, specifically insurance.

It is sue happy people like you that is the reason that everything costs so much. Like you never made a mistake? And we wonder why companies don't want to be in business in the U.S. Litigation costs millions, and scares companies away. Lawyers are only a notch above a slippery used car salesman.

The landlord offered to fully compensate for the missing items...I'm sure he'll throw in free rent for a month or two as well. The isn't a situation to sue someones pants off, unless you agree with the sue happy country the US has become. Mistakes happen.

Nizzles,
I agree with you.