About 3 years ago we went through a rigorous legal battle with my fiancé’s father and sister. They felt they had the right to live in our house for the rest of their lives with no financial responsibilities onto them. They basically wanted us to be their permanent caretakers.
At the beginning we asked them nicely to leave. They refused. The father and sister then began harassing us by taking our things (threw out my shoes, clothes, movies), locking us out of the house, not letting us cook or do laundry in our own house, and many other things as well. So we had no other choice but to file eviction papers.
They then counter-sued us, claiming my fiancé owed them money for improvements on the house. However, since my fiancé and I both worked full time and his father and sister still lived in the house with us, they intercepted the notice of lawsuit they filed against us and we never saw it.
We didn’t find out about the suit until it was too late. Their case was won by default, placing a lien on our house for $75,000+ and our eviction case was thrown out. We then tried to reopen the case, indicating that his sister was intercepting and taking our mail (which is a federal offense).
This resulted in a somewhat agreed upon settlement out of court. My fiancé paid them the $75,000+ to get them out of the house and the lien removed.
Now after all of this, his sister is claiming that we owe her an additional $1800. She is saying if we do not pay it in 30 days it will increase to $2700 with fees and late penalties. This is absurd! How does she think we still owe her!!!!????
Can I counter sue her for harassment and mental anguish? She has caused us so much stress and tension and misery. I just want to be done with her. I would also like a no contact order because I do not want her around us ever again. What can we do about this? Thank you.
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Answer
Dear Heather,
We presume by this time you and your fiance have vacated the premises. Practically speaking, unless you have proof the actions of your fiancé’s father and sister caused physical injuries to one or both of you, it will be very difficult to succeed in a claim for personal injuries, stress or tension caused by your fiancé’s father and sister.
If you have evidence you are being harassed, you can go to the local courthouse and apply for a Restraining Order. You will not need an attorney to do so.
To begin, file an Application for Relief from Abuse. In the application, consider checking the appropriate boxes set out below:
CT01 – The Respondent not assault, threaten, abuse, harass, follow, interfere with, or stalk me.
CT03 – The Respondent stay away from my home or wherever I shall reside.
CT05 – The Respondent not contact me in any manner, including by written, electronic or telephone contact, and not contact my home, workplace or others with whom the contact would be likely to cause annoyance or alarm to me.
For additional information on filing an Application for Restraining Order go to:
The State of Connecticut Judicial Branch here.
In addition to the Application for Restraining Order based on Relief from Abuse, you must complete an accompanying Affidavit – Relief from Abuse. In the Affidavit you must set out the facts upon which you believe the abuse and harassment is based, and then swear to it under penalty of perjury.
The State of Connecticut also has Court Services Centers created to assist those people without attorneys.
Learn more here: Compensation for Emotional Distress
The above is general information. Laws change frequently, and across jurisdictions. You should get a personalized case evaluation from a licensed attorney.
Find a local attorney to give you a free case review here, or call 888-972-0892.
We wish you the best with your claim,
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