So we rented this single family house in Cali and ended up breaking the lease. The owner wanted us to pay for damages, but we didn’t actually give them any money directly. We just told them to use the security deposit to cover one of the damages. Later, we sued them for the living conditions and stuff, and during the hearing, I told the judge that we already paid for damages. That kinda messed things up… The judge now thinks we paid AND they used the deposit. But we didn’t pay out-of-pocket. Now the landlord’s trying to file this SC-108 form to fix it but the judge keeps denying it thinking we already paid. Whole thing is a mess tbh.
Wait… so the judge thinks you paid for the damages and used the deposit? That’s wild.
Page said:
Wait… so the judge thinks you paid for the damages and used the deposit? That’s wild.
Yeah, sounds like a total misunderstanding. Like, if the only ‘payment’ was using the deposit, then that should’ve been clarified better at the hearing.
@Jesse
Exactly. Seems like the judge just got mixed signals from what was said in court.
Page said:
Wait… so the judge thinks you paid for the damages and used the deposit? That’s wild.
SC-108 is for fixing that kind of thing, right? Maybe they just didn’t explain it well enough in the paperwork.
IDK why judges don’t double-check before making final calls… Like just ask for proof??
Finlo said:
IDK why judges don’t double-check before making final calls… Like just ask for proof??
Fr, it’s like they just assume and boom—decision made. But now it’s super hard to undo.
Finlo said:
IDK why judges don’t double-check before making final calls… Like just ask for proof??
Y’all keep saying SC-108… what even is that?
Finlo said:
IDK why judges don’t double-check before making final calls… Like just ask for proof??
Y’all keep saying SC-108… what even is that?
It’s like a form to fix or cancel a judgment if something was wrong in the original decision. The landlord’s been trying to use it to explain the mix-up.
So just to be clear—you guys told the landlord to use the deposit instead of paying? And then sued them to get that money back too?
Lyle said:
So just to be clear—you guys told the landlord to use the deposit instead of paying? And then sued them to get that money back too?
Yeah exactly. We never paid any extra money, just asked them to use the deposit. Then we tried to get it back later 
This whole situation sounds like a mess. You might have to file some kind of appeal to fix it.
Zenith said:
This whole situation sounds like a mess. You might have to file some kind of appeal to fix it.
Yeah like a motion to reconsider or something? If the judge legit misunderstood, that could work.
@Page
But wouldn’t that take forever? Legal stuff moves soooo slow.
Honestly, sounds like everyone just needs to lay out the facts super clearly. No more miscommunication.
Charlie said:
Honestly, sounds like everyone just needs to lay out the facts super clearly. No more miscommunication.
Agreed. A written timeline or something might help the judge get what actually happened.