I don’t really want to move on from yesterday’s post, but for various reasons I need to put something else up here.

So hi! Was anyone else out there aware of how much the legal system sucks? Har har. For the few of you who are interested, here is why my case was dismissed:

The man I assumed was my “landlord” was, in fact, merely the “agent”… actually it was his company who rented the property and they were considered the agent. The “landlord” was my agent’s father, since it was the father who actually owned the property. So the father can’t be held legally responsible because the father (who is ancient and enfeebled) could claim no knowledge of any of the problems I experienced… because all of my documentation and emails and such were with the son. I asked repeatedly for some sort of documentation of the contract established between father and son/landlord and agent so I would know who was responsible for what, but I was told that “no such document exists.” Further… all of my paperwork…. emails, letters from my doctor, medical tests done to prove my allergy to the mold, the official mold test to prove the presence of mold, my documentation for the hundred hours of sick time, etc… all of that is worthless in court. It’s no good. I now know that for anything to stand it has to either 1) be documented by a government agency or 2) proceed from the mouth of an expert witness who is present and sworn in at the trial.

This is NOT how they do it on Judge Judy!!!!

So. Here, in brief, are the “two worst things.” #1 – The son knew ALL OF THIS. From day one. And could have emailed me two months ago when I first asked him to settled this outside of court. Rather he chose to humiliate me and go to court twice over proving his point. #2 – I did initially attempt to procure a lawyer. After my first visit she told me that yes, I had a case and that I needed to invest the money in a professional mold test ($500) in order to pursue my case and she could help me. I did. Then she changed her mind. All told I lost almost $1,000 in the false belief that I had a case to pursue (mold test, court costs, medical testing/records, etc.)

It all sucks but I have no choice but to move on. The positive things are that I am healthy. I haven’t been sick once since I moved out. A DRASTIC change for the better. And I like living where I am now. It works for me. And I have a fireplace.

My heart is still very very heavy for those who are experiencing unimaginable loss this day, this week, this month. I dreamed last night about my friends and I dreamed that all of their bad news was just a bad dream. But it isn’t. It wasn’t. It should be.

One happy story: Tonight I was unloading a bag of groceries and I dropped the paper bag onto the kitchen floor for the kitty to play with. She crawled into the back of the bag, making sure I couldn’t see her, and waited patiently while I walked back and forth until that perfect moment when BANG!!! Kitty explodes from the bag and catapults (heehee, a pun) herself onto my leg.

I love that cat.