Our client shared a rental home with a co-worker in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Denver. When she felt her roommate was creating a toxic living arrangement by spreading rumors to co-workers about alleged life style issues of our client, our client sought to move out and be released from the lease.
Upon our advice, she moved out to escape that environment, while we continued to help her try to reach an agreement with the roommate – by finding a sub-lessor and even offering her short term financial support until she found a new roommate.
The roommate not only rejected these offers but filed a lawsuit in small claims court alleging that our client had an obligation to pay her portion of the lease until its expiration. The judge ruled in our client’s favor as we expected.
In legal situations where someone claims they’re owed money, a plaintiff must demonstrate he or she has tried to mitigate the situation and minimize the damages. Since the roommate rejected our offers to sub-let the space and even pay her to lessen her short-term inconvenience, the judge denied the roommate’s cause of action and our client was not obligated to make any further rent payments.