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Return (or lack thereof) of Security Deposit

  • Thread starter Thread starter Abused Student
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Abused Student

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What is the name of your state? illinois, cook county

i am a student in missouri and lived in chicago working at an internship this past summer. my landlord was sketchy from the start and reluctantly gave us a receipt for our steep security deposit. we moved out at the end of august 2002, leaving him with my address to which he could send our security deposit, and as of mid-january 2003 had not yet received our deposit. i've called him, sent certified letters, and finally filed a lawsuit against him in early january 2003 after threatening to do so in my final letter to him in october 2002. i mean, we waited in good faith for him to return our money. my roommate's father called him last week, and lo and behold, he sends us a check for the deposit (received late january 2003). however, i'm still interested in pursuing the lawsuit because i think he purposely tried to scam us because we're 22 year old students from out-of-state. our claim (including original deposit, double damages, and court costs) is for over $6K, so we can't go to small claims court. the sheriff's department has tried to serve him once already to no avail at the only address i have for him (his office at the apartment complex). i'm filing an alias summons as soon as the paperwork arrives, but how does one go about serving someone who seems to always be disappearing and is only around his office during odd hours of the day, usually at night? (like I said, he's a sketchy character). i don't have his home address and have no idea about how i would get it. and can i still sue him for the double damages even though he's just returned the deposit? my roommate has not and will not cash the check yet. it's definitely been over 45 days since we moved out and there were more than six units in the complex, i've been doing my research on illinois landlord-tenant laws. thanks for reading and helping, you're a peach.
 


You can have a "Special Process Server" appointed, on proper motion in the Court.

However, your better "bet" is to hire a lawyer who knows about the Ordinance you are relying on for damages and hire that lawyer on a contingency....Under Section 5-12-180 of the Chicago Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance, if the tenant is the "prevailing plaintiff" then the tenant's attorney's fees are paid by the landlord. If the case is settled, and you should get more then your deposit back, then the legal fees would be a percentage of your recovery.

So, hire a Chicago lawyer and proceed with the case.
 

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