norcaldivr Posted May 20, 2006 Posted May 20, 2006 Well, I just got served with a lawsuit from my ex GF. Amazing the things I am accused of. A little background: I had been in Real Estate for many years before we met. We bought one house together then moved into another one that we bought, keeping the first one as a rental. The second house was a "fixer". I went on doing what I do, buying and selling etc. when I wanted to give her the opportunity to make some money in the business. Dumb move on my part. I sold a house I had owned for some time to exchange for a crusty old victorian 4-plex and put her on title. She never contributed a dime nor helped work on the house I sold. Guess I was stupid in love. Deal was she was supposed to manage the victorian since property management is something I despise. I would do the maintenaince. Being an old building it demands much of my time and she never managed the property as promised. About two years ago she decided to move out into the first house we bought to "find herself". Now she decided to move out of state to be with her cowboy lover and wants to cash out. Fine. The two houses we bought together and she is entitled to half the equity in them. I told her that if the victorian is sold I want my original downpayment back. Her response ? "I'll see you in court". I have been accused of breech of fiduciary duty for alleged mismanagement (a chore I never bargained for in the first place) and "committing waste" since the property is somewhat rundown. She even has the nerve to ask for punitive damages. The building was very rundown when we bought it and I have been steadily improving it over our term of ownership, but I can only do so much particularly since I perform all management and maintenaince myself for no compensation I might add. With all the repairs the building never made money but nontheless I am accused of skimming the non-existant profits. I work my fanny off to try to make a go of it and this is the thanks I get. In her attorneys words I "acted willfully and deliberately in a manner intended to injure, opress, and defraud". She even wants a portion of the money I earned on my other activities stating that I was using resources (time and my money) that should have gone into improving the victorian. Of course I am fighting this to the tune of thousands in attorney fees and I can refute all of her allegations but man, what a bummer to have to deal with this. I was trying to do her a favor. Of course nothing is in writing. Yes, I know I was an idiot. I should have never included her in my business and should have insisted in a written agreement but we all know how love can be. The victorian has gained significantly in value thanks to a favorable real estate market and I have no qualms about her recieving half of the gain. It was my decision to include her and I stand by it. But to be accused of all of those things and her attempting to collect damages for a property she never contributed anything of value for either time or money is perposterous. But of course I must answer her lawsuit. I am posting here for two reasons. One of course is to vent and the other is to warn others of the perils of mixing business and love with some people. I realize many women are not like this but this experience will certainly make me more cautious in the future.
Outcast Posted May 20, 2006 Posted May 20, 2006 I very nearly put someone on title to my property who didn't contribute so much as a dime to its acquisition or upkeep. Thank God my stupid brain cleared. I will NEVER be such a moron again and will be forever grateful to Whoever snapped me back to reality before I did something incredibly idiotic. You have my sympathy - it's an awful hard way to learn a lesson. Don't feel bad - even Paul McCartney lost his mind because of 'love'.
panthera_leo Posted May 21, 2006 Posted May 21, 2006 hmm tricky situation. Unfortunately, the law can be a right b!tch. Im not sure whether you guys in the USA have the same law on property as the UK but im guessing its quite similar from what you're saying. We have the princinple of resulting and constructive trusts in our law. The law implies a trust between the parties when the legal owner intended the other to have a beneficial interest. We also have the presumption of advancement rule... which states any male (gender biased) who buys the property and gives the legal title to the woman, will have NO equitable interest in the property as it is automatically presumed as a gift. Unfortunately, in the UK there is no way out of this. Yeah the law is outdated and biased but thats the way it is. Im concerned as to why your being charged with breach of a fiduciary duty as you are not the legal owner... nor was there any intention of you to manage the property. As far as the court is concerned you have no dealings in this... your name isn't on the title deeds. Surely, if you can be charged with a breach of a duty regarding the maintenace of the property is was intended that you have an equitable share in the property? Anyhows, its a matter for the court, and the law can certainly be unfair, i know that. I feel for you. You were being generous...and it got thrown back in your face. Its good that your posting here to warn others. Its a common mistake and unfortunately you only learn from it when its too late. I wish you luck in your court proceedings
Craig Posted May 21, 2006 Posted May 21, 2006 I doubt that she'll collect anything except a scolding from the Judge but you must fight this one. Unfortunately. The scum of an attorney is taking her money to file the law suit and serving up a big platter of boilerplate for you to choke on. Probably in the hopes you'll settle out of court so he gets paid and she gets a little money. Don't let the boilerplate scare you it's just ordinary attorney crap that his assistant copied from some disk or book. Doing good deeds is a good thing and now you know why some people make the choice to be anonymous in their philanthropic activities.
daphne Posted May 21, 2006 Posted May 21, 2006 My father always said never trust anyone when it comes to sex or money. Personally, I can deal with being cheated on easier than being swindled. Sorry that you found out she lacked any integrity. Good thing is, she's gone and she's someone else's problem now.
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