I really appreciate your reading the long paragraphs and your help. I tried to make it more readible but I am not able to make the font bigger.
My previous tenant moved out in August 2011. They stopped paying rent before moving out, but paid $100 late fee per lease. By doing so, they got away without me holding any security deposit because I had to apply the security deposit as rent. They claimed that they would set up security deposit with their lawyer, but never showed evidence they did so.
I assessed damages against them when they moved out, such as drawings on the wall by their children in newly painted rooms (painted when they moved in), big holes punched on the wall and a huge pile of garbage they left behind that the town refused to take, etc. But as expected, they refused to pay for the damages, and cut off communication by not responding to my emails and blocking me from phone reception. Since NY state is not landlord-friendly, I decided not to pursue any legal actions for a few hundred dollars.
After they moved out, they had several packages delivered to our house. We had arranged for them to pick up those boxes. But this August, more than 1 year after they moved out, they sent three big boxes containing paintings to our address again. My current tenant does not want to keep those so I took them. They finally got in touch with me yesterday threatening to sue me for taking FedEx items. I told them the following: 1. I did not take those boxes. Those boxes were shipped to my house. I asked my tenant to tell them to contact me directly; 2. It was a typical irresponsible behavior of theirs that they keep sending shipments to our house. Using our address one year after moving is very irresponsible and we are not responsible for the safety of their goods; 3. I would like to negotiate with them. I was entitled to a deposit and would like to use these as deposit. If they could pay us the damages, and we will return the boxes to them.
They sent me an email to notify me that they arranged FedEx to pick up the boxes from our house tomorrow and asked me to leave them by the garage, otherwise, they will sue me; and if any of the contents were damaged, they will also sue me. I plan to ignore the notice and will not respond to their email.
My questions are as follows:
- Am I going to be in trouble by ignoring them?
- How do I proceed in order to resolve the disputes with them by negotiation and compromise by both parties?
- Can I use the boxes as security deposit at all?
You suggestions are highly appreciated, especially from legal point of view. Of course, common-sense advice will also help.
