Portland, OR asked in Landlord - Tenant for Oregon

Q: How to sue a landlord in small claims

I was working with a lawyer who recently stopped communicating. He helped me get a letter out to my apartment complex in July which was completely ignored by the management company. How do I go about taking them to small claims or could I resend out the letter with different dates sending one to the leasing office and the other to the management office then attempt the small claims after a second no response....

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1 Lawyer Answer
Gregory L Abbott
Gregory L Abbott
Answered
  • Landlord Tenant Lawyer
  • Portland, OR
  • Licensed in Oregon

A: There may be a variety of reasons why your attorney appears to have dropped pursuit of your case. You can take it to another local landlord-tenant attorney. It offers the added benefit of getting a second opinion on the strength of your case. Or you can file suit on your own in small claims. I don't see what you gain by sending a follow-up letter. If they ignored a letter from an attorney, they are not likely going to change as a result of a second letter from the tenant. It would also hurt your credibility. If you don't follow up from the first letter, why would they think you will on the second? Essentially you would be saying "I told you the first time that I meant it. This time I REALLY mean it..." and that fundamentally is a weaker position than either following through or just dropping it.

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