I want to sue my landlord. Good idea?

Question

I came home from class today and my apartment door was half open. We have a cat, who fortunately was hiding under the bed.. There was a maintenance guy in the apartment who said he just went in to go into my bathroom because the apartment NEXT TO MINE had a sink that was "running slowly." Our bathrooms share a wall. 

Now, in Ohio, you have to be provided a 24 hour notice before entrance into the apartment unless it is an emergency. I asked each of the maintenance guys if this was an emergency and they said no, the guy's sink was running slowly. 

I then went to the apartment office and I recorded my conversation with the landlord (one party consent is legal in Ohio), and he acknowledged that yes a 24 hour notice is necessary unless it is an emergency. Basically his only point is that a slowly running sink in the apartment next to mine was emergency enough to go into my apartment without notice. 

Now, I've done research, and the only emergency repairs that I ever find are loss of power, flooding, loss of water, etc... Clogged drains, or in this case, very partially clogged drains, is NOT an emergency repair. 

So is it worth suing this guy? He was very disrespectful, particularly when I made points that made him sound like he was clueless. I'm really just very bothered that my privacy was violated, and had I not come home on my break between classes I would have never known anyone was in there. 

Or am I in the wrong somehow?

Thanks guys

Slickterp · Accepted Answer

You aren't going to win a lawsuit based on one occurence.  He claimed emergency, it's semi-legit.  YOu won't find a legally defined list of emergencies.  Doesn't exist.

You have nothing to sue FOR.  You suffered zero damages.  "and had I not come home on my break between classes I would have never known anyone was in there."  -  exactly.  And it would have been no harm at all.  So you have nothing to sue for.

Send a letter that all entrance in the future must be with notice.  That's what you can do.

Kini · Answer

They should have given you a courtesy notice that the maintenance would go to your bathroom as well but maybe they didnt know.  This type of work has to be done at the contractors convenience whether you are there or not. Check your room and make sure nothing was taken. I dont know why you want to make a federal case out of this involving recording the conversation. It sounds very cloak and dagger. If you didnt lose any items, whats your beef?

I think you may not have an adequate social life.

Greg · Answer

If you sue the landlord one of the things you must prove is damages. It sounds like there were no damages here so it would be difficult to prevail.
Write a letter to the landlord making note of the incident and advising them that you expect to be notified in the future prior to them making entry to your apartment. At least this gets it in wiriting.
You might also speak to some of the other residents and casually ask if they have ever had the same thing happen. If so, you might want to consult an attorney since this is a flagrant invasion of privacy.
Good luck.

A Hunch · Answer

Do you want to get sued too?  Was it legal to record the conversation?  You don't like your privacy violated but you don't care about the privacy of others?
- the laws in Ohio leave a LOT to interpretation... it might be ok or you might not be.

Add'l info:  It is universally legal in Ohio to record conversations without both parties knowing.  If you are doing it to blackmail someone it is never legal... And there is a bunch of grayness in between.

kornegay · Answer

you may no longer sue him for something except you may teach some style of genuine damages; making you indignant or disillusioned does not count selection. it ought to obtainable be grounds for you to terminate the settlement, yet that should purely advise you ought to discover a sparkling residence. It became into probable purely a pretend impact; possibly he could no longer arise with you, and thought it became into extra of an emergency than it unquestionably became into. purely talk with you landlord and ask him to ascertain to tell you interior the destiny. proceedings over this form of component are often thrown out and are a burden on the legal equipment.

R P · Answer

You can sue anybody for any reason. Doesn't mean you are going to win.

In this case, you probably won't win a lawsuit. Why? You did not suffer any financial loss. 

You can expect that your LL will opt to not renew your lease.

skeeter · Answer

from a landlord point of view, there was a drainage problem in a unit. you share the same drains as the adjacent unit. it is very possible that the unit he was working on could have sewerage backing up in your apartment. so yes, i would consider this urgent. the landlord is protecting his property from damage.

Landlord · Answer

To win a law suit you have to prove damages.     What damages have you suffered?

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I want to sue my landlord. Good idea?

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