Information by Elena Lomeli - Former tenant
Folks, this is one for this history books. It's the longest submission we have ever had. The child care provider, Mary Ohanessian, is scary in her abrogation of her duty to the children, submitting them to vermin and disease, but she is even scarier in her terrorizing and harassing Elena as a tenant in California. This story is a matter of public record so nothing is deleted or changed. Elena won a court case and then went thru further problems getting the money but she persevered and came thru. This is a "how-to-book" on fighting evil with videos, screenshots and more. Thank you Elena.
Yes, it's long but if you are a tenant flag this info you may need it. (LR/ss)
Hello,
I am reaching out to all possible outlets to try and spread the word.
A short gist of my story:
I had moved into a rental location in the private home of Mary Ohanessian Sumner (landlord) and she did not disclose to me (or another tenant) that she had a rodent infestation.
I am reaching out to you because there are kids involved. I had cameras in my rental space that captured evidence of this landlord having brought children into this hazardous environment. I am sure the parents were not aware that there were rats in the house because she did not even disclose this to those who were living in the house. Here is the video I was referring to:
https://youtu.be/JDGhCTFCx00
I have written my entire encounter with the said landlord and though this might not have been me actually seeing something with my own eyes, these are still babies that she brought into a rodent-infested environment. Here is the link to my blog:
https://medium.com/@ELomeli12/my-time-with-mary-ohanessian-sumner-4ed2aa15bf8d?source=friends_link&sk=8410f784a27a578fb9efadf8b245ac41
If you can share it on any of your social media pages, that would be greatly appreciated. This is in the San Francisco Bay Area as a reference.
I do thank you for your time and appreciate that you have the ISYN site.
Thank you for your time,
Elena
Below you will find her entire blog....
My Time With Mary Ohanessian Sumner…
Elena LomeliFollow
Mar 19
the landlord who brought children into her rodent-infested home
I am sharing my tale about my time with Mary O. Sumner, Mary Sumner, Mary Ohanessian… (she has different variations)
Now the biggest question you might have is, “why bother write this?”
The answer is simple. (not really, that just felt like the right thing to say….)
Short Answer: To Raise Awareness
Longer Answer: I am doing this in the hope of reaching the parents of the kids Mary watches. I have a soft spot for kids. I am sure they had no idea that Mary had rats in the house from over a year ago. I am not sure if she fears losing her income, but caring for children in an inhabitable environment has far worst consequences. I include a good portion of my entire encounter with Mary in an attempt to provide a glimpse into the type of person she is. She may look like a welcoming lady, but she is not what you expect. Aside from the kids, there are other tenants involved. There is one that had moved in the weekend before I did, and as far as I know, the room I occupied, has been rented.
Also, besides the hassle of finding a decent, affordable living place in the Bay Area, making sure your landlord is not crazy is another issue all on its own.
I hope that this helps anyone who:
is looking to “take their landlord to court”
is currently renting from this landlord (or has rented)
have used Mary as a nanny/caregiver
A little bit of a warning before diving deep into my story…
IT IS VERY LONG
…and contains images of 4-legged vermin and their poop.
(just trying to cover everything I can — and viewer discretion advised)
…and so we begin…
San Francisco Bay Area living is very, VERY pricey. Earning less than six figures is now considered “
low income.”
(GO FIGURE… get the pun?)
Finding a good place to live at a reasonable price is hard to come by, but when I first moved to San Jose, I came across a housing situation that I just could not pass up. Though it was not my first choice, I now cherish this wonderful place I once called home.
I found a bedroom and bathroom for rent in a private home where I lived under the same roof as the landlords. It was not my ideal choice because I had just left “the nest” and I wanted my own space, but for the location, there was nothing that was going to be this good.
The landlords = GREAT, the area = GREAT, the rent = AMAZING! Would you believe me if I said that I rented my own private room and bathroom in the wonderful neighborhood of Willow Glen for less than $1000? How about less than $800? Or even less than $500?
IT WAS AS GOOD AS RENTING COULD GET IN THE BAY AREA…and definitely something that was ideal while I was finishing school.
Side Story…
I personally know of someone who was renting a space they have on their property. It was reasonably priced and not too far from San Jose State University. I never saw it in person but it seemed great for someone who was going to school. When the space was posted for rent, many people were interested. Seeing that there was this influx of people, the said person then kept bumping up the rent price til about twice as much as the original posting. This person does not need the extra money, they are simply taking advantage of the fact that people are looking for a decent, affordable place to live.
Anyways, after having lived at this wonderful location for 4 years, the landlords needed their space and that meant that I (as well as the other 2 tenants) needed to look for a new location.
Content with the idea of renting a private room and private bathroom in the home of strangers, I sought to find something that was close to the luxury I had before and as one would imagine, I was not successful. The closest thing I could find was twice the rent I was paying but I found the same type of set-up. It was a private room (loft style — it was upstairs and below was a den and the washer and dryer) that was twice, maybe even three times, the size of my prior room, private bathroom, and a great neighborhood.
The landlord (Mary Ohanessian Sumner) lived in the house with her two ADULT children and was trying to rent out 2 rooms — one bedroom with a shared bathroom and the loft room, which is the one I was interested in.
It would be a total of 5 people living in the house but I would have my own space so I didn’t mind.
Mary seemed nice and because I needed to move out, after seeing the place and speaking with her, I decided to rent the space — signed the lease and gave her the deposit (she ended up also renting out the other room at the same time).
here is a copy of the lease
THE WORST DECISION EVER!
~ June 15, 2018 (Friday): the official start of lease~
My mother made the 6-hour trip to help me move into my new location. Now before doing so, we tidied up prior to bringing in my stuff. While at the house getting the room ready to bring my stuff in, Mary informed me that there was a wire sticking out of the bed and that she would be getting a new one but there was no confirmation as to when a new one would be coming.
My mom and I are listening to music and cleaning the room and having the grandest of time. While we were sweeping the floor, we discovered ……………………… rat poop.
Let me tell ya, my heart sank into my gut and I just knew that this was going to be H — E — DOUBLE HOCKEY STICKS! I thought, “did this lady really rent out this place to me with rats in it?”
LIVID is what I would say I was…
With some rat droppings located at a corner of the room where there were several windows and MOST of the rat droppings found under the bed along with some food wrappers — my mother and I set off to the store for some extra cleaning materials. Now when I say that we cleaned that room from top to bottom, I mean we really cleaned that room thoroughly to make sure it was no longer a health hazard. We had used up the cleaning supplies we had just purchased and our mop is permanently painted black because the room was so filthy.
~ June 16, 2018 (Saturday) ~
Exhausted from the night before, I wake up to a long text message from Mary:
INITIAL THOUGHTS:
The audacity of Mary to send me such message when the room was absolutely filthy from the floor up and I was just doing what she should have done before I moved in…AND it almost sounds like she is threatening me with her “3 warnings rule.” Plus, there is no one directly below me so who made the complaints?!?
SIDE NOTE:
The son lives in, what seemed to be, an extension of the house and he has a door directly below one of my windows. He always has the door opened and ALWAYS has people over and is loud at all hours of the day and well into the night. Was he the one that complained?
Now, a few of you might be thinking “well, didn’t you check the room before you moved in?” OF COURSE I CHECKED THE ROOM…but I did not know that I needed to check under the bed and had to do the white glove test (while wearing a white glove, with a finger you swipe along something to see if there is dirt or dust).
back to the story
I responded by stating a fake apology followed by evidence of the said rat poop…
She (the landlord in question) did not have an immediate response and averted the topic until I met her face to face and brought it up to her again.
When I actually made her talk about it, the words that came out of her mouth just sent me overboard.
She said, “THE LADY BEFORE YOU ALWAYS HAD OPENED FOOD CONTAINERS AND PIZZA BOXES LAYING AROUND…I HAD TO CALL 3 SEPARATE CONTRACTORS TO TRY AND GET RID OF THE RAT PROBLEM.”
Keyword to take note of…. T-R-Y
You mean to tell me that this issue has never been fully taken care of?!?
OMG! WTH! — said my dying inner soul…
Why didn’t I just leave, you say — well I had a signed 6-month lease and wasn’t sure about the circumstances of me leaving. I never had to deal with really knowing my rights as a tenant besides the obvious like the landlord not being allowed to enter my rental without permission or adequate notice. So I felt stuck and that I had to stay for the time being….but rest assured that I was looking up my rights as a tenant and the laws that could be used against Mary in Santa Clara County.
~ June 18, 2018 (Monday) ~
Despite the fact that Mary let me (and another tenant who is from out of state)move into the rat situation, I was still trying to be the great tenant that I am… I informed Mary that I was going to be out of town on June 22–24 (in case she needed me or something). She said “thanks for letting me know.”
#yourewelcome
~ June 20, 2018 (Wednesday) ~
Mary had sent me a text message saying that a beeping noise was coming from my room. She said that she heard the beeping sound the day prior (June 19) but did not mention anything about the noise until now. She asked if I wanted her to unplug it to which I said that it usually stops on its own. She then responded “Ok. I’ll wait and see if it does then let you know.”
Shortly after her last text, I get a notification from the camera I have set up in my room saying that it detected someone…..
Without my permission, Mary showed herself into my room.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?
Lucky for her, all she did was turn off the alarm and walked back out but you should not be in my room without my permission.
(trespassing)
Now it is the weekend, officially a week of me living in the house and I am out of town.
~ June 23, 2018 (Saturday) ~
What the actual hell….
She never told me anything needed to be repaired until this very moment and the thing that needs to be fixed is a window screen that has a hole in it because that is where the rats chewed their way in. Why was this not done before the space was rented?
Here is the screen:
Rats can fit through a hole that is the size of a quarter.
I was hesitant to let her into my room while I was out of town knowing that she had already gone in without my permission, but this was a
repair that needed to be done and I could not say no really. So I let her in, ONLY to measure the window, and as one might imagine, she did more than what she was given permission to do…
NOTE: I have had no time to settle and arrange my belonging — I get home late from work and there is a “quiet time” in the house and I did not want to disturb anyone when I was organizing my things.
With my things still not unpacked and organized, she entered my room, measured the window, then began to snoop around.
When you move into a new place, it looks like a hot mess…so bear with me.
While she was snooping around, she saw my camera — it is in plain sight and I was not trying to hide it. After all, it is MY room — I am paying to live there.
She then sends me a long text which I can only categorize as HARASSMENT:
Let us break down her message…
“When the guy comes to do his job, he can’t even get to that side of the room.”
That is one reason why a 24-hour notice is required and advised. Had I known that a repair needed to be done or that a contractor was going to come in, I would have made sure that he could do his job with no issues.
“I asked you if you had a lot of stuff to bring before you moved in, because I saw that you are bringing stuff in every day since last friday and you said no, just my clothes and a couple of the plastic drawers, but that is not what the room looks like now. You said your previous room was half the size of this room and that you don’t have a lot of stuff; but that is not what I saw today!!!”
First of all, we spent all day Friday cleaning the room
Second, here is what I actually told her about the things I have:
you will learn that Mary twists a lot of things
“I also told you most people come here with a couple of suite cases and maybe a couple of boxes and put everything else in storage if they have more stuff.”
I am not MOST people — I also don’t need to know what people have brought with them in the past
“I want the room to look like the way I rented it to you, except the trunk I told you you can move over to put your tv on. Even the rug has been moved under the bed. I know you are still sorting through your stuff, but once you are done sorting, I want the rug back where I had it, no extra stuff on the dresser. These are expensive furniture and I want you to take care of them the way I gave them to you.”
I am renting the space and can do whatever I want with it (except damage it but I am not a person that damages things — I take care of the things I use)
If I want to move stuff around, then I WILL move stuff around. If you don’t want things moved around, then you need to state that in the contract or take them out of MY rental space
And no stuff on the dresser..are you kidding me..that is what a dresser is meant for.
“I need to inspect the room as soon as you are done sorting and putting things away to see what it looks like. Even though I am renting the room, I still want it to look like the rest of the house, organized, not much clutter laying around and clean.”
HOW I LIVE IS HOW I LIVE! I don’t live like a pig or anything but you have no right to tell me how I need to have my room and
use it against me.
(the rest of the message is blahh)
I respond to her message then she sends me a response shortly after…
(left — my response; right — Mary’s response)
Did you catch that?
She said that she became aware of the rodent problem A YEAR AGO.
at least 365 days before I moved in…
Do you see how she does not respond to her not letting me know that there was a rat issue. She also said, “I was not aware that the tenant didn’t clean under the bed.” All that tells me is that she did not clean.
Am I in a hell hole or what…
I did not respond to her nonsense and the contractor ended up not coming this weekend. I also made no attempt to organize my stuff because I knew for sure that I was going to move out.
~ June 25, 2018 (Monday) ~
The dryer, which is located right beneath my room, was started and running at 6:00 a.m. Whoever was using the dryer, was also in the kitchen slamming the microwave door and throwing dishes into the sink. I knew it was Mary’s daughter who is 30+ years old — but even a child knows to be polite in terms of noise level. It felt like she was purposely making these loud noises so early in the morning because her mom (the landlord) and I exchanged a few messages over the weekend OR she really has no sense of respect.
I text Mary letting her know that the dryer and noise level woke me up and reconfirmed that there were certain times when laundry could be done.
She said that she had allowed her daughter to use the dryer despite the designated laundry times that are stated in the contract…
“Does this mean that your daughter gets a warning for breaking a house rule?” -the response I wanted to tell Mary
why bother have rules if you, or your kids, are not going to follow them
~ July 1 & 2, 2018 ~
I mentioned earlier (when I moved in) that the bed had a spring sticking out. It was not until I moved in that Mary noticed the bed was broken. I asked her if she could remove her sheets that were on the bed because I had my own, so I assume that is when she realized the bed was damaged.
Anyways, she was trying to sell the broken bed and needed pictures of what it looked like. Knowing that there were rodents prior, I had put protective covers on the bed and box spring for obvious reasons. I mentioned to her that she is free to take the mattress and take the photos herself because I did not want to take off the covers due to a weird odor (described by my mom as being urine). In place of her taking the mattress, I would sleep temporarily on a foldable cushion thing I had. While she works on getting a new mattress, I requested that she also look into getting the couch and carpet cleaned that are in the room.
She replied, “Nobody has ever complained about the mattress or sofa or rug smelling, but if you want you can clean the sofa with either water they have dry cleaning material if you don’t want to wet the fabric…”
She really just told me how I can clean her carpet and sofa…
takes deep breathe before I do or say something I am going to regret
_____________
When I arrived at the house, there was a guy that had pulled up at the same time in a van that read “rodent proofing” (this is not the name of the company). He walked up to the front door of the house and Mary came out to get him then took him to the backyard.
Why is Mary being weird and not saying anything about the rodent guy checking around the house? Are there still rats that she has seen and he is checking it out?
She should not keep this a secret. Seriously, dig your grave deeper.
~ July 4, 2018 (Wednesday) ~
HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!
Mary sends me a text and I respond with the following:
(left — Mary’s response; right — my response)
Mary’s follow-up response:
Has she gotten on your nerves yet?
So we meet and she brings a copy of the contract and I bring a copy of the California tenant rights. She says this and that and I am just looking at her like “are you serious?” and “you need some help.” Finally, I have the opportunity to say something and I say “LEGALLY YOU ARE REQUIRED TO GIVE ME 24-HOUR NOTICE BEFORE ENTERING MY ROOM” AND “YOU CANNOT ENTER MY ROOM JUST BECAUSE YOU WANT TO.” I flipped through the book of tenant rights I had printed out to show her the law and she said: “this is not an apartment complex.”
I looked at her and giggled.
She then proceeded to say, “this is my house so my rules.”
After, she continued and said that she would “allow” me to break the lease because we were not a good fit. She was finally cooperating — good for her.
We adjourned the meeting and were now in content….for the time being at least.
~ July 9, 2018 (Monday) ~
I remind Mary that I would be out of town July 12–16 (...because I am a GREAT tenant)
I also told her that she can “inspect” the room before I head out of town on Wednesday, July 11.
~ July 11, 2018 (Wednesday) ~
She never responded to when I told her I was available for the “inspection.”
After leaving and coming back home around 10:00 pm, we came across each other in the kitchen and I gave her the check for rent (rent is due on the 15th but I was early because I knew I was going to be out of town).
Upon handing her the check, she said: “where is the cash?”
A little rewind again…
When I gave her the deposit, I asked if she wanted a check, venmo, etc.. Before I could finish that sentence she said “CASH!” Not thinking twice about it, I was like “okay!”
…back to the story…
Remember I said that I had been reading and learning about my rights as a tenant...well there is a law that says that the
landlord must accept something other than cash as a form of payment.
I replied, “I am not giving you cash.” She responded, “why not?”
I looked at her and said, “here is the check.”
She snatched it from my hand and rolled her eyes at me….I walked away as fast as I could because….I CAN’T EVEN DEAL!
Why bring up the fact that she doesn’t seem to like anything other than cash..because it is just really shady to me. Shady in the sense that because it is cash, it cannot be traced!
~ July 12, 2018 (Thursday) ~
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!
~ July 15, 2018 (Sunday) ~
Being the great tenant that I am, I provided Mary with a 30-day notice about me leaving.
Her response:
She still wants to do her inspection even though I am leaving…and she threatens to not return my deposit. (
ILLEGAL)
“I expect the room to be clean and organized every day so that I can show it to people and I want to be able to show it whenever people want to see it even when you are not home. I will still send you a message letting you know that I want to show the room tonight (or whenever people can come after work or on the weekends), and I can’t wait for you to be home to show it because I don’t know your schedule and often time you come home late from work or you are not home. ”
YOU CAN’T ENTER MY ROOM WHENEVER YOU FEEL LIKE IT! You need to
give me 24-hour notice — end of story.
(left — my response; right — Mary’s response)
ANNOYING, ANNOYING, ANNOYING!
She also says, “I do not want to talk about this and I have no interest in what’s in your room.” Then follows up with, “Let me know what time you want me to inspect the room.”
You say you don’t care what is in my room so why keep pestering me about an “inspection” which I can only consider is your way of being nosey
I DON’T WANT YOU TO DO AN INSPECTION…..but I have an idea…
~ July 17, 2018 (Tuesday) ~
On this day I decided to allow Mary to do her “inspection” because it would be my gain.
I never organized my room or made an effort to put things away because I was going to leave anyway so having her see that the room is exactly the same as it was when she snooped around on June 22, was something I could not bear to miss.
Besides, I have a camera (2 cameras) in my room that catch video and audio of her reaction.
I let her know that I am home and head to the restroom because it was a long drive back.
I never said I was available for the inspection. I just got home, let me at least settle.
While in the bathroom, she shows herself into my room.
(such manners she has)
I come out of the bathroom and she immediately starts going on one of her rants.
She got to a point where she was yelling and raising her voice and I said, calmly, “you don’t need to yell, speak like a person.”
It took everything in me to not snap back. While Mary had fumes coming out of her ears, I was just sitting down, smiling.
The video from this night got distorted, but the audio is available. Using an image from the tail end of our conversation, here is the audio from one of the cameras I have with a still image:
After I excused her CRAZINESS, I sat on the corner of my bed and hopped on the phone to speak with my mom.
Literally, not even a few words came out my mouth when I saw this big black thing in the corner of my eye come crawling out from under my bed to the entrance of my room. With my mom still on the phone, I was so in shock all I did was gasp.
At this moment, I know I had to get some type of court system involved to get back all of the money I gave to Mary Ohanessian Sumner. This was not okay and I needed legal assistance at this point.
I hung up the phone and followed the rat's tracks to see if I can snap a picture but it was gone. Mary had gotten a “new” bed and box spring (it was her daughter’s old bed) since the other one was broken and I checked under the bed to see if there were other rats under there (brave, I know) and I saw rat poop as well as a hole in the box spring which I can only imagine that the rats made.
I COULD NO LONGER BE IN THE ROOM…for obvious reasons.
I immediately sent a message to Mary:
Knowing that she would not respond because she took some meds and passed out, I set off to the store to get some traps.
“I am hoping to catch one then hide it somewhere in the house or maybe even sneak it into her room and put it under her sheets”
said the dark voice inside my head (we all have one)
~ July 18, 2018 (Wednesday) ~
I drive to Walgreens past midnight to buy peanut butter and traps.
(the traps are for the rats and the peanut butter was for me…just kidding, the PB is bait)
I set them up around my room and move one camera underneath my bed facing the hole in the box spring and I move the other camera to the dresser where it has a better, wider view of the room.
It’s about 3 am and I don’t know what to do or where to go. I tried looking for a hotel but there is nothing under $100 because I need to buy the room for the day before.
I am laying down on the bed waiting to hear a snap and ended up falling asleep.
**SNAP!**
I was woken up by one of the traps going off.
It’s dark in the room and I can’t see a thing. I grabbed a flashlight near my bed and begin to look around. I don’t see anything but know something could be there.
I get out of the bed tiptoeing towards the light switch. I turn on the light and see that the bait was licked off of the trap that went off but there was nothing caught.
I put on some gloves and reset the trap. Then I watched the video from the cameras I had set up.
The rat and the trap were on the other side of the room (at the entrance of my room) so all you really see is a shadow.
I packed my stuff and headed to work….3 hours early!
______
Mary wakes up from her slumber and responds to my message:
Let’s break down her message again:
“Elena, we had rodent problem last year when the woman brought food boxes of pizza and left open food all over the room which I told you about and I spent a lot of money getting rid of the problem and that’s why I told you you cannot have open food in the rooms and that you should keep all your snacks, cereal and any food boxes you have in a steady box with a lid on and if you bring dinner to eat in the room you should put the boxes in the garbage can immediately.”
Blah blah blah...I do keep my food in a closed container and I have told her that I do so. Don’t know why she keeps lecturing me about nonsense
Here is a message I had sent her (06/23/2018)
“We don’t have rodent problem in the rest of the house because we don’t leave food sitting in the kitchen or other places.”
Really?!? That is a lie!
“The other reason I didn’t want you to bring a lot of old boxes from storage or other places here is because I don’t know where they have been stored and what’s in them. When I asked you if you had a lot of stuff to bring with you, you said no, just my clothes, a TV, a desk that I will take it apart to either get rid of it or to take it to LA, and a couple of the plastic storage units with drawers.”
Again with her bringing up what I said I had or was bringing — the proof is in the messages
Plus, all the boxes and stuff I have for storing were brand new because I did not need them before
Everything came from my prior room (my mother and cousin as witnesses to this)
Delusional is what she is…
“Then when you were moving in for a week you were bringing boxes and boxes of stuff in the room. I saw the mess in the room when I came to replace a screen in your room. When I questioned you about the clutter, you said I haven’t had a chance to put things away and I need more time. I asked you how much time do you need to put this room together, you said ten days. Last night when I came to inspect the room it was in the same condition as when you first moved in.”
I told y’all I didn’t do anything to the room — I figured since she liked it so much the day she decided to snoop around that she would appreciate it if it was left the same way
plus I was moving out anyways
(something about the bed….blah blah blah)
“In addition I spent $500 rodent proofing the house again while you were away and I can show you the receipts.”
So you’re telling me that you knew there are rats and that you hired someone to try and take care of the issue while I was out of town (July 12–16) — keeping the rodent issue a secret?
It also sounds like had I not seen the rat, she would have never told me about it
There are obviously rats in other places of the house on the contrary to the what she had written earlier: “We don’t have rodent problem in the rest of the house because we don’t leave food sitting in the kitchen or other places.”
(blah blah blah)
“I took extra measures…………………stored in a storage or a garage some place.”
Hard to believe that you didn’t have any issues when there was rat poop in my room when I moved in
As mentioned before, they are brand new boxes but she twists the story to be in her favor and try to put the blame on me
I ignored her nonsense…and was forced to spend the night at a coworker’s house. (You know who you are…thank you!)
VIEW DISCRETION ADVISED —
video of vermin!
~ July 19, 2018 (Thursday) ~
VIEW DISCRETION ADVISED — video of vermin…
AGAIN!
Mary lets me know the day of that the rodent guy is coming in…
“thanks for the heads up” — my sarcastic internal response
I then proceed to tell her that I purchased rat traps and sent her an image of the rat under the bed next to the hole in the box spring:
It is licking the bait off of the trap. Let me tell you, even after these traps went off and snapped, they still kept coming back to lick off the peanut butter. As if it was something they were used to doing.
these vermin know how to work their way around a trap and are clearly not afraid it…
I did not respond to this message…
I get a notification from my camera saying that it spotted someone. Sure enough, it was Mary and a guy who was distracted by his phone (6:33 pm):
If this was a guy I had hired to be a contractor and he was on the phone, he would be fired on the spot because clearly, he has better things to do — that is my personal thought.
The guy was on his phone, half looking around the room while Mary was doing who knows what. There was one point where she starts looking through my trash — I had a large black trash can with a swivel lid that was just filled with hangers (I used it as storage for when I had moved), and Mary tried to push the lid open but she couldn’t because hangers were in the way. Next to the large trash can, there was a small black one with no lid on it. That one actually had trash in it. Trash that was just of wipes I had used to clean down places where the rat pooped and what not. Yup, she actually picked this stuff out from the trash and touched it.
She was likely trying to see if I had food in the trash so that she can blame the rats on me.
Is looking through someone’s garbage illegal?
Two hours later, I get a notification from my camera again that someone had entered the room. Lo and behold, it was the guy and this time, he was ALONE!
Mary said that she will ALWAYS be in the room with whoever is working….well, where is she here?
Mary then sends me a text:
I do not respond…
~ July 19–23, 2018: I stayed in a hotel ~
~ July 20, 2018 (Friday) ~
I get a notification from my camera — it spotted someone.
Tell me, does this look like a rodent contractor to you?
Then there is this (not so) lovely view….mind you, the camera is in plain sight:
The [supposed] contractor puts expanding foam (hence the can) in holes he finds around the room and the house.
He used the traps I purchased and also put one sticky trap under the bed for “extra” measures.
Mary tells me nothing about them being in the room that day or what the “contractor” had done.
Full Video
~ July 21, 2018 (Saturday) ~
My mother had made the 6-hour trip, AGAIN, to help me take my stuff out of the rat-infested room and into an off-site storage unit. I had never had a storage unit before so I needed to also get insurance to cover my stuff. The storage unit was the smallest one there and the cheapest available because I was already spending a lot of money.
My mom and I had to buy more cleaning supplies to sanitize and wipe down EVERYTHING before taking it out of the room and into my car. That was an all-day effort and a tedious thing to do. The rat literally climbed on all of my stuff and had no trouble climbing my things.
Aside from cleaning everything, there were items that I just could not clean and needed to throw away. One of those things being the big teddy bear I had…
R.I.P. Mr. Teddy
Mary has an older German shepherd named Jack who looks and feels like he has not had a bath in ages. I love dogs and animals and I just felt so bad for Jack because I wanted to touch and play with him but he could be carrying whatever the rats are carrying, so I did not want him near me. A scary thing to think about, but true…
While my mom was walking to the door, Jack just flipped a switch and let out an aggressive bark and lunged at my mom. Of course my mom was scared, so I asked Mary if she could put the dog away and she did because she was trying to look like a nice person in front of my mom, but my mother knows EVERYTHING.
Anyways, we are cleaning and taking things to storage and when we get back, Jack is loose. Seriously, you know my mom and I are here trying to get this done and now your dog is being aggressive.
My mom and I finished up and then went back to the hotel to try and relax for the rest of the day.
___________
While in bed, I was looking at the camera feed and this time, what the rat did was just…YUCK!
Seriously, how can anyone be okay still living in the house?
Yup…..the rat jumped onto the bed and was all up in there!
~ July 22, 2018 (Sunday) ~
Finishing up cleaning, removing, and throwing away the things that were in my room.
My mom and I stuffed my car with as many items as we could to take them to storage. I threw the trash away in the bin, where it belongs, and I toss broken down boxes in the recycling one. Before leaving with my mom and getting ready for her to make the trip back home, I stopped to talk to Mary.
I told her that the rodent(s) was still lurking around the night prior. I sent her a picture so that she can report it to the “contractor.” She said, “okay, thanks.”
She then proceeded to tell me that the broken down boxes were taking up too much space and that I need to take them out of the recycling bin and dump them at the nearby Jack in the Box. I looked at her with a face of “ARE YOU SERIOUS.” I said that there is plenty of space and that the lid closes. She then proceeds to say that it will attract flies.
Mind you, these are cardboard boxes we are talking about. Ones that are broken down and can simply be smashed if needed.
I just look at her and walked away.
Shortly after, I get this message:
I told her that I was not going to illegally dump the boxes at the Jack in the Box and that she can check the traps daily and just to let me know before in case I am doing something in the room. The bins are meant to be used and knowing that there are about 5 people living in the house, she should request to get the larger trash and recycling bin because she currently has the 40–48 gallons bin and not the available 55+ one.
Besides, there was still PLENTY of room. I did not take a picture because, well….IT IS A RECYCLING BIN WITH BOXES THAT CAN BE SMASHED EITHER WAY!
Now her ranting continues after my response:
“Every day we have at least one garbage bag to throw away.”
That is oddly suspicious — is it because there are rats?
“Nobody said it’s illegal to put a garbage bag in the bins and I see people do it all the time, as long as they don’t make a mess or leave it on the ground.”
So just because other people are doing it, that means that you are going to do it too….
The dumpster she is referring to is actually enclosed by cement walls and has a locked gate for the entrance — there is no roof though which makes it easy for people to chuck over some garbage bags
This is my last night at the hotel then I need to checkoutt. Everything is exspensive near my work so where can I stay next?
~ July 23, 2018 (Monday) ~
I actually find a place to stay for the next few nights in Morgan Hill which is a long drive after work and a long drive to work. Why this place you may ask? Well, it was the cheapest option around.
Oh, did I mention that I stayed at a camping ground? It is called
Thousand Trails. I stayed in a safari tent. I don’t mind camping, I LOVE camping, but when I have to get up early in the morning to get ready for work, staying at a place where I have to walk to the bathroom with a flashlight and check to make sure that there aren’t wild animals in there with me is not my first choice. This is what I stayed in:
Source:
https://bit.ly/2JdIKah
Anyways, Mary actually checked the traps. Really surprised but something that I am sure she will not be consistent with because she needs to do it every day.
~ July 24, 2018 (Tuesday) ~
Crickets…..no messages from Mary and no notifications from the camera.
I met with a lawyer from the Tenant Law Group, PC. A one-hour consultation cost me $335…
I had shared all of my information and evidence with the team prior to my meeting.
I had never met with a lawyer before so I was unsure what to expect.
Our meeting began and I was happy to know that the lawyer actually took the time to review the information I had sent over. He even went over the hour to answer my questions and to give me as much information as possible.
As part of the consultation, after the meeting, I was given a summary. The lawyer sent me an email that recapped our conversation and provided a legal analysis with action items (how to proceed with filing my small claims).
An excerpt from his email:
“California residential leases include two implied promises by the Landlord: (1) the implied warranty of habitability (i.e., the Landlord promises to maintain the rental unit in a habitable condition), and (2) the implied covenant of quiet enjoyment (i.e., the landlord promises that the tenant will be able to quietly enjoy the rental unit). Where a landlord breaches the implied warranty of habitability and/or the implied covenant of quiet enjoyment, the law recognizes as a remedy a refund of rent paid — either partial or full depending on the severity of the habitability issues. (These habitability requirements are set forth at
California Civil Code section 1941.1 and
California Health and Safety Code section 17920.3.) ”
So the lease was basically broken the second my mother and I found the rat poop in the room before I even really moved in…….
~ July 25, 2018 (Wednesday) ~
I brought to Mary’s attention that she is not checking the traps daily like she needs too and like she said she would:
Now Mary’s response…
She knows I have a camera in my room, why does she insist on lying.
LYING GETS YOU NOWHERE!
I also had no idea she was a rat whisperer — relying on their sound and everything.
Rats are quiet (most of the time) relying on the sound is not at all sufficient
I let her know that I saw a rat on the video running around the room the day before in the afternoon — YES, in broad daylight, that thing was making its way around the room. I also mentioned to her that the traps had not been rebaited since the “contractor” set them and the rats licked the bait off immediately that night.
She said that she will go and check everything and set things a certain way to see if anything is moved the following day.
Really, you are going to move around unbaited traps? What is the point of doing that? The rats have no motivation to go to the traps and they are not even set to catch them.
Then Mary mentions that the day prior, they ran a rat out of the house. She sounded convinced that it was so scared that it was not going to return.
Sorry to break it to you, but that is not how it works.
I told her that I will be arriving at the house soon and that I will look around with her.
_________
I get to the house and we look at the traps in my room. Sure enough, the traps were unset and unbaited.
Of course Mary had nothing to say, I was right and she was not doing what she should be doing to take care of the rodent issue.
She then says that the “contractor” will come over tomorrow and that she does not think that there is any more rats because she ran the last one out of the house.
She says this despite there being rat poop around the room….(smh)
~ July 26, 2018 (Thursday) ~
No longer chilling in the safari tent so another co-worker offered to let me stay at her place for the night.
Thank you, thank you, work fam!
Oh, the “contractor” did not show up. If I am not mistaken, from the time the guy came in and rebaited the traps I bought (July 20), til now, that is 6 days of the traps not being baited and set up to catch the rodents.
WOW! Sounds like Mary is actively doing her part in trying to get rid of the rats.
~ July 27, 2018 (Friday) ~
CAMERA NOTIFICATION
(someone is in my room, and I wonder who it could be)
I open and view the video feed for my camera and the first thing I hear is a baby crying.
Some side information:
Mary Ohanessian Sumner appears to be a nanny, caregiver of some sort. I have seen these kids at the house from time to time and thought maybe she was just babysitting or something.
One day, when I got home from work, I opened the kitchen door to this cute little boy who was crawling around. He could kind of walk but was not yet sturdy on his feet. (so cute)
Being as resourceful as I am, I did a Google search of the landlord and sure enough, she had profiles on sites like
care guide sitter,
nanny lane and even had an ad on
Craigslist for her babysitting/nanny services. (perhaps this was her job)
[In case links don’t work:
Care Guide,
Nannylane,
Craigslist]
Anyway, back to the video ordeal…
While Mary was in my room with the contractor, the baby was at the bottom of the stairs crying. Mary was trying to settle him down by calling his name. The baby has (who I think is) a sister, who was in the living room at the time when the baby was crying. Mary was calling out to the little girl to basically come and get her brother while Mary was upstairs with the contractor.
The little girl, playing in the living room, did not listen to Mary when she called. So with the baby still crying at the bottom of the stairs, Mary leaves the contractor alone in the room and this is the point where I forgot that the contractor was alone and was more concerned about what was going on with Mary and the kids.
You hear Mary yelling the little girls name and telling her, “come here.” She is frustrated because the little girl is not listening. While Mary is yelling, I think she might have upset or scared the baby because the baby was basically crying bloody murder (but this is just my take on what the baby’s cry sounds like).
There is silence for a bit and you see the contractor on the side of the bed cleaning up the rat poop. Then you hear the little girl crying.
The cry is moving in the direction of the camera. My assumption is that Mary went downstairs and grabbed the little girl from the living room because she did not come when Mary called her.
With the little girl still crying she says that she “wants to play” and Mary just wants her to stop. Mary begins to raise her voice at the little girl. She threatens to call the little girls mother, which I think is a childish tactic to do. (Mary is yelling at the little girl to stop and the all the little girl wants to do is play)
While this is all going on, the contractor is in my room alone doing a very poor job at cleaning up the poop. He can barely reach under the bed to sweep up all of the droppings and he certainly does not reset & rebait the traps. Why is he even there?
Trying to give him the benefit of the doubt, Mary yelling at the kids is very disturbing so maybe he just wanted to get out of there as soon as possible, but regardless…. poor work.
Again, he is not wearing gloves while doing this and who knows if he made contact with the children after. Very, VERY, unsafe.
Bringing up the children again…
I am almost positive that the parents had no idea that there were rats in the house. She did not mention it to me, someone who was actually living there and I am pretty sure that she did not mention it to the other tenant.
These kids run around and play in the house, and the little one, I have personally seen him crawling on the kitchen floor. Mary is not a very clean person so who is to say that she even properly cleaned and sanitized the floor.
If I were the parents of those children and I was not aware that they were being taken care of in a rodent-infested environment, I would certainly raise hell. That is a serious health concern and I would even say a degree of child endangerment.
Don’t forget that she has a dog who she brings into the house and could be carrying whatever the rats are carrying.
LISTEN WITH SOUND!
The name of the kids have been beeped out…
_______________
After that whole ordeal, Mary sends me a message:
Not sure how many have been caught but regardless, I am sure that she would not give me the truthful amount. She also does not share the exact location of where the rat was caught — it is a generalized location.
Her message almost makes it seems as if the rats are originating from my room and making their way down throughout the rest of the house, but that is just my take on it.
I proceed to let her know that she did not inform me of her and the “contractors” entrance and that it is not okay to leave anyone alone in my room — I do still have stuff in there.
Mary’s Response:
She certainly was not on the steps while the contractor was in the room doing his job.
It really just baffles me that she lies and in fact knows that I have a video camera in my room that proves she was not present. Instead, she was yelling at the little girl downstairs.
Mary also swears that while she was watching him, the contractor checked the traps, cleaned the room, and put new bait on them.
Seriously…. The guy walked into the room with nothing but a trash bag and a dustpan with a brush. Was he hiding the bait (peanut butter) in his pocket? He was not even in the room for that long.
AGAIN WITH THE BOXES!
I have told her multiple times that all of the boxes were new and I have never had a storage unit until I needed to get one to move my stuff out from her rat-infested home.
Her rant continues… then in the last paragraph, she seems to play the victim:
“It bothers me when you talk to me like this.”
My reaction, respectively…
Source:
https://bit.ly/2TFz9Ow
How am I talking to you exactly? Through text message?
Despite her raising her voice at me on several occasions, I’ve kept my cool. Is it the fact that I am telling her what she is doing wrong that she does not like?
Well, Mary……… IT BOTHERS ME THAT YOU LET ME MOVE INTO YOUR RAT INFESTED HOUSE, TRY TO BLAME ME FOR YOUR PROBLEM, CONSTANTLY HARASS ME, CAUSED ME TO BE DISPLACED, AND MADE ME SPEND THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS….. and not once have I been rude to you. I have been trying to compromise and meet halfway but she wants everything done her way which is never the right way.
After that very long message, she continues with another one saying “I have no interest in what’s in your room except when you bring a lot more stuff with you than you told me so.”
She has told me several times that she does not care what I have in my room yet she wants to do an “inspection” to see what the room looks like and to see what I have……
Let me ask you this, if you were moving into a new location, would you tell your landlord exactly what you were bringing into YOUR rental space?
NO!
I believe it is none of their business and I am sure not everyone knows every little thing they own. When she asked me what I was bringing when I was moving in, I told her that it is all stuff from my precious rental space which is a room that is half the size of the space I was renting from her. I did not point out every single little item I was bringing.
There are times where I find things and think, “Oh, when did I buy this,” or “I forgot I had this.” There is absolutely no way I would tell Mary, or anyone for that matter, what I have because I don’t even know what I have/own.
This contractor sounds like a horrible one. If I hired someone and he did not show up when he was supposed to several times, I would not pay him and he would be out of a job.
I responded to her messages by:
Sending her screenshots of a past conversation where I (1) told her I did not have opened food in my room and (2) told her what I was bringing
Images from the camera that show she was not on the steps watching the contractor when he was in my room
Unbaited and unset traps
Mary’s response:
She again basically swears up and down that she was on the steps watching the contractor work.
I have also never heard of a contractor who seems to come only when he wants to or is free.
Tangent story: My current landlord knocked on my door around 11:00 p.m. one night. When I answered she said, “Sorry to bother you but I am having a plumber come in a few minutes and wanted to know if you were having issue like everyone else.” I said no, everything has been working here, she said “okay, just wanted to check and let you know.” Though it was late at night, plumbing is considered an “emergency” and something that needs to be dealt with right away when you have tenants. Sure enough, the plumber came a few minutes after, found the problem, FIXED the problem, and the landlord let the tenants know that the issue had been taken care of.
Her message ending is……priceless:
“I feel like no matter how hard I try to end this problem, all I get is complaints from you!!”
CRY ME A RIVER WHY DON’T YA!
She also mentions that the contractor is supposed to return tomorrow…..we shall see!
~ July 28, 2018 (Saturday) ~
THE CONTRACTOR DID NOT SHOW UP!
In other news, I found a new place, got the keys, officially moved in!
~ July 29, 2018 (Sunday) ~
Today was the day I officially leave the rat house.
I text Mary to meet up so that I can return the key:
I had arrived and we did a walk through inspection together, all was good, and there were no issues with the room.
I handed the landlord the key and she said: “I am sorry this had to happen.”
Inner response: “I am sorry I ever met you”
I looked at her feeling the need to just EXPLODE but I kept my composure and started walking down the stairs as she sat on the couch that was in the room…
Yes, the couch the rat climbed on, and the same one I found rat poop on as well!
She then proceeded to ask me where I moved…
Are you serious?
Inner response: “THAT IS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!”
I responded, “…to another place.”
I walked out the kitchen door, got into my car, and just felt like I could take a breath for a second…..
Then that second ended and I followed-up with a text message:
Then Mary’s response followed by one from me…
Mary’s Response:
I did not respond and started counting down the days til the deposit was due because after that point, I could file my claim.
~ August 13, 2018 (Monday) ~
MARY POSTS MY OLD RENTAL SPACE FOR RENT
2 weeks after me moving out
It is hard to believe that she knew for sure that the rats were all gone.
I feel bad for the next victim she lured in.
~ August 20, 2018 (Monday) ~
DEPOSIT RETURN IS DUE
I text and email Mary the following:
Mary’s Response:
Anyways, if I “did” damage anything in the room, she should have sent an itemized receipt which she did not, of course. She is late on returning the deposit and I intend on filling a small claim with the Santa Clara County Court.
Before being able to do so, I need to request my money back from her so I simply follow-up with this message:
That is over $6,000that was spent between June 9, 2018 to July 28,2018.
I requested reimbursement for:
Whatever I paid her (deposit, rent for 3 months)
Needing to stay in hotels — I got these rooms at a very discounted price, I did not stay in the most expensive room expecting it to be repaid to me by Mary
Needing to stay in a tent on a Morgan Hill campsite — that was the cheapest thing around
Having to purchase a storage unit — had to get my stuff out of the rat-infested house and put it somewhere; I also needed to purchase insurance for the unit but I did not mention the cost in this message ($75/year)
A P.O. box — for fear of her (or her daughter) retaliating against me and keeping my mail and because I did not have any other mailing address
Costs to get and secure a new rental space
She always has something to say but she did not respond to this message or email……
~ August 28, 2018 (Tuesday) ~
After several attempts of my rushing to the Superior Court on my lunch break only to find that there were several people in line, I finally was able to file my claim and the court date was set for OCTOBER 23, 2018.
…our case is public record.
Why so far out? Well, the court makes appointments at least a month in advance.
Oh, it cost $75 to file my claim (the price depends on the amount you are suing for).
~ September 4, 2018 (Tuesday) ~
Mary calls my cellphone while I am at work, leaves me a voicemail and even sends me a text saying that she has my deposit. To her, this is the last day to return my deposit to me because she based it off of the contract date, but it is 21-days after I vacated the rental (she is wrong).
Besides, even if it was the last day to return my deposit, why is she contacting me the day of? She should have sent it certified mail so that it is date stamped.
She is bothering me while I am at work….
Knowing that I am trying to find someone to serve her the court papers, I simply respond, “I cannot”.
I did not respond to her again…
~ September 25, 2018 (Tuesday) ~
I was finally able to get the papers served to Mary.
NOW WE PREPARE FOR THE COURT DATE
~ October 23, 2018 (Tuesday) ~
I had read many forums and seen that people had suggested attending a small claims session to see what it is like so that I am prepared when my time comes but let’s be realistic…I simply do not have time to just leave work and sit in on a session. So I was basically going in blind and I had no idea what to expect.
My mother made the trip to be a witness.
We arrived at the courtroom and were surprised to see that Mary was there and had been accompanied by her daughter.
Was her daughter going to be a witness?
There are several other parties that have the same session time. The assigned courtroom deputy does roll-call for all of the scheduled cases and then we wait for instructions from the clerk. (not sure if they are clerks or recorders)
This is were Mary starts to play the SYMPATHY card…
When her name was called she said: “I am here but I have a bad back and I cannot stand for a long time.” She goings on to ask if our case can be the first one that gets heard. The Deputy says that he will mention this to the judge and that during our case time, they will pull up a chair for her.
Rolling my eyes, I look at my mom and we just shake our heads fully knowing what BS she is trying to pull.
They go over the process of how they are going to hear each session. Then they provide information about the judge. For today’s hearings, there was a temporary judge. You have the option to wait for an official judge but that means postponing your hearing to who knows when.
There is also an option to speak with a mediator but I felt that the only solution with Mary was to stand in front of a judge.
So the Temp. Judge comes into the room and tells us that before proceeding, all cases must show each other the evidence they have. (So I have to show Mary my evidence and she had to show me hers)
You step outside of the courtroom to do this….
*NOTE: THE ENTIRE TIME WE ARE OUTSIDE OF THE COURTROOM EXCHANGING INFORMATION, MARY IS STANDING (she does put one knee up on the bench for a little but stands the entire time)*
I show her all of the evidence I have which is a stack of papers that is larger than a thesaurus.
…but not as large as this story
Source:
https://bit.ly/2T8rKBZ
She starts showing me her stuff and it is very few sheets of paper and the main document is her pointing out an event and writing her opinion about it. She is literally reading every single word she typed on the document and I tell her “you just need to show what you have not read everything to me.”
Mary is talking to me as if I was the judge. She is taking up so much time that the judge had already started to hear cases.
I told her, “just show me the rest of the stuff you have because the judge already started.”
She moved on to the next page which is a picture of a bunch of letters. I kid you not, my mom and I thought that the letters in the photo were some mail I had received at the house after I moved out. I started to get mad at that moment thinking that she was really keeping my mail.
It turned out to be a photo of all of Mary’s medical bills. She claims that I caused her so much stress to the point where she had to see so many doctors and is on medication, blah blah blah…
What in the world was she stressed about? I was the one who didn’t have a place to live. If she really was sick in some way, I bet it was probably because of the rats.
She finally finishes and we make our way back into the courtroom.
The deputy motions to the judge to allow us to go next because Mary has “a bad back.”
The judge calls up our case and I am standing at the Plaintiff's table and Mary is at the Defendant’s table.
Here comes the SYMPATHY card again…
Mary tells the judge that she has a bad back and cannot stand for long — they get Mary a chair.
Right off of the bat, the judge looks like she does not want to be there and I immediately recognize that it is a situation where she asks questions and I give my answer to that question and nothing more.
After asking me a few things, she moves to Mary…
Judge: Did you give her the deposit back?
Mary: Your honor, my husband was a veteran and passed away. I needed more income to support my kids…
(before Mary can finish)
Judge: Ma’am please answer the question. Did you give her the deposit back?
Mary: No. She did not want it.
Judge: Well obviously she does or else we wouldn’t be here today.
(the others in the room let out a little chuckle)
I felt that the judge could sense her BS…
The judge got more information from both of us and looks to Mary and asks her if she is planning on countering the judgment.
Mary: If my cancer comes back, I am going to sue her for everything that she’s got.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME!
Is she really trying to blame me for her having cancer or for it possibly coming back?
Cancer is a serious thing and there is no way you can put something like that on anyone. I didn’t even know that she had cancer and it sucks that she does but now she just seems to be using it as a weapon against me. That is not at all okay….
The judge takes both of our evidence, then the case is adjourned (the judgment will be decided later on).
We were in front of the judge for about 4 minutes total.
Anyways…
We finish and then my mom and I just hung out until she had to go back home.
~ Date: UNKNOWN ~
I FINALLY RECEIVE THE JUDGEMENT IN THE MAIL
(the judgment was actually entered the same day as our court date but was sent to me via snail mail)
I open it up to see what the judge ruled that Mary owed me and I am just beyond mad….
A SLAP ON THE FACE to me is what this judgment is…
The judgment total is a whopping $1,100.
…judge ruled that Mary just return my deposit and cover the filing fees.
SERIOUSLY
I just about flat-lined I was so mad (if that is even possible)
After her letting me move in with rats, me not having a safe place to live, and her not returning my deposit!
Disappointed!
Now I don’t know if the Temp. Judge just didn’t care, if she even looked at the evidence, or if she really in her heart of hearts thought that it was the best and fairest judgment.
Was there something I could do about it? No idea.
Having already wasted my time, money (I don’t have), and was stressed over on this whole process…I just wanted it to be over.
BUT…
Mary still needs to pay me. She does have 30 days to file a counter and only after that time period can I enforce legal methods to have her pay the judgment.
There is this document called “Statement of Assets” that Mary needs to fill out and send to me as well. (this lets me know what she posses so that I may put a levy on it should she not pay)
So I will be waiting for that.
~ about 2 months later ~
Life, Work, Holidays!
It has been well over 30 days and I have not received the statement of assets and Mary did not counter. I move forward with one of the allowed legal ways to get Mary to pay the judgment.
~ January 3, 2019 (Tuesday) ~
I file an “Order of Examination”
Mary must either pay the judgment or appear in court and hand over a completed Statement of Assets document. Her failing to appear in court can result in her being held in contempt, face jail time, and possible fines.
Court date is set for February 4, 2019.
Again, Mary needs to be served but this time it has to be done by a registered process server, a marshal, or a sheriff. So I paid $55 to have someone serve her…..Yayy!
~ January 15, 2019 (Tuesday) ~
MARY GETS SERVED…………….again!
Not too long after she was served, Mary sends me this message:
NOW she wants to pay the judgment!
I do not respond to her…
Legally, because she did not pay the judgment immediately, there is interest and other approved costs that can be added to the judgment — so that means that $1100 is no longer the final amount that she owes.
~ January 16, 2019 (Wednesday) ~
Mary requests a receipt which I absolutely do not need to provide her.
~ January 17, 2019 (Thursday) ~
I sent Mary a message informing her about the added costs — and she responds right after:
(left — my response; right — Mary’s response)
I mentioned to her in my initial message that she will be receiving the additional costs in the mail.
I did not respond to her message….
She also sends me an email regarding having sent the check:
Take notice of the last paragraph.
She says that she still needs to take me to court for damaging the surface of the dresser and for “other things.”
WHAT THE WHAT!
I am hoping she is not serious but I know she truly thinks that she can take me to court to get money from me for apparently “damaging” the dresser and for other things.
She clearly does not know how this stuff works with deposits and itemized receipts if she is claiming that damage was done.
Also, what OTHER THINGS is she going to try and sue me for?
~ January 18, 2019 (Friday) ~
A message from Mary:
Just because they say it was delivered, that does not necessarily mean it was — packages get reported as delivered all the time and never show up
It may be in my P.O. Box so I will grab it when I can
I will report it to the court once the funds are in my account — What if the check doesn’t go through? YOU NEVER KNOW
The mail will get to you, don’t worry Mary!
~ January 19, 2019 (Saturday) ~
(left — Mary; center — me; right — Mary)
Letter? What letter is she talking about? The court does not need to send her anything at this point.
The information is all there. If she has any questions or needs clarification, she can call the court.
~ January 21, 2019 (Monday) ~
I responded back and told her the amount and mentioned that it was as stated on the form.
~ January 27, 2019 (Sunday) ~
Mary…..you do realize that it is Sunday right?
The courts are not open.
Her “ASAP” remark irks me!
~ January 28, 2019 (Monday) ~
I got the full payment amount and immediately completed the “Satisfaction of Judgement” to let the court know that the judgment debtor (Mary) has paid the judgment.
Since the judgment has been paid, this means that we do not need to go to court on February 4. Me completing the form tells the court that she paid whatever the court ruled that she has to pay.
I mailed this document to the court and let Mary know that I received the payment and that the court was going to be notified.
Why is she asking me all these questions…
I do not need to send a receipt; if you want one, get it from the bank — I also verified this with the court (I do not need to send her anything — I did not even need to let her know that I received the payments but I did it out of courtesy)
The court does not notify Mary but she can use her resources and contact them
I do not respond to her because there is no more needed communication between us.
I called the court and verified that since the satisfaction of judgment was sent in, we no longer need to go to the scheduled appearance on February 4. There is no official way to “cancel” the court date. The parties simply do not show up and when they do roll-call, they will see that we are not there and they take our case off of the list.
~ January 29, 2019 (Tuesday) ~
Again, why is contacting me about this? If you want a receipt you should have sent me receipt slips to sign and sent stamps too so that I can mail them back to you. Besides, you can get a receipt from the bank.
Also, call the court. They DO NOT mail you anything saying that the judgment has been satisfied. If you want to check, call and ask them.
Of course I do not respond…
~ February 1, 2019 (Friday) ~
I was covering the phones at work because the main receptionist had to step away for a while. (our phones have caller ID)
Going about my day, doing work, the phone rings and the name that appears is OHANESSIAN, M.
WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL! IS MARY REALLY CALLING ME AT MY WORK!
I AM FUMING!
I pick up the phone and do the normal routine when I answer the phone and she has no idea it is me…
Mary: Elena Lomeli, Please!
Me: Okay. May I ask who’s calling?
Mary: It’s private.
Me: Okay. Let me see if she is available.
(put her on hold just because)
Me: She is not available right now.
Mary: Well, where is she?
Me: Not sure. She may be on break or something.
Mary: Okay. Thanks.
Just wow…
The normal receptionist hops back on the phones and I tell her that Mary likely will be calling and I advised her to just say that I left for the day.
Sure enough, Mary calls my work AGAIN.
My coworker answers and tells her I was not there. Mary then proceeded to question her and say that she was told I was on break.
Not even a minute later, my cell phone starts to ring.
Guess who it is…………
Source:
https://bit.ly/2UDoekV
She sends me the following:
Then I respond with the following…
I did inform my managers that Mary called the office… twice.
Mary’s response:
She admits to harassing me and calling me at work (aside from the texts and calls to my cell).
I do not want her to know where I live so there is no way I would ever give her my address.
She claims to have called the court….I signed and mailed the satisfaction of judgment on January 28. Whenever the court received is whenever the court received it, but I knew I had time to send it in.
Letter? Why does she keep mentioning a letter? There is no letter or paperwork that the court sends to her to let her know that the judgment has been paid.
She still thinks that we have to go to court.
Ummmm, common sense here.
The court was scheduled because the judgment was not satisfied, but because the judgment was satisfied and they have the satisfaction form, that means we no longer need to go to court.
Besides, if she really did call the court, why would she not check to see if she still needs to go to?
~ February 4, 2019 (Monday) ~
I have no idea if Mary showed up to court. I certainly did not because we did not need to.
She has not contacted me since…..thank goodness.
Here we are now.
Some added items:
To those who are looking to file a small claim against their landlord…
It is not cheap
It is a lengthy, tedious process
The outcome likely will not be what you expect
Though I am not a lawyer or paralegal in any way, shape or form, I am happy to share the resources I used
To Renters…
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS!
Invest in some cameras to have in your rental space
To Landlords…
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS!
Do not take advantage of tenants
To the parents of the children…
I apologize for this taking as long as it did. If I could, I would be outside of Mary’s house every day waiting until you arrive to let you know what has gone on.
Please do not hesitate to reach out. I am happy to provide you with any and all information I have.
To Mary Ohanessian Sumner…
What you are doing is wrong and I hope you know that. Regardless of what you put in your leasing contract, you must follow city, county, and state laws. These laws will always remain present whether or not they are acknowledged in your contract and you cannot override any of them. I know rodents happen but you do not bring other people into your home with a rodent issue, especially if they are children. They carry diseases and can be harmful. You certainly did not take care of the situation in a timely manner and I do not at all believe you did the best you could in this situation.
Also, lying gets you nowhere.
…know that there is much more to the story, but I tried to cover the more important items.
