4
Since September 2023, plaintiff had returned each and every check sent by defendants
and had not accepted any of their funds. However, at some point plaintiff realized that Rosales
had “forced payment” into his account. Exhibit 6 was a letter dated September 7, 2023, written
by plaintiff and addressed to defendant Rosales. It read, in pertinent part, “you ‘force fed’ a
deposit into my checking account in the amount of $710.00. [¶] This was done without my
permission. [¶] You have no lease agreement and you are not a tenant at [the premises]. Also
you are no longer a manager. [¶] . . . [¶] I am returning the amount to you via postal money
order.” A copy of the money order was included at the bottom of the exhibit. Plaintiff sent the
payments back every month and did not cash the checks after Rosales’s employment was
terminated. Plaintiff did not enter into oral contract with defendants and conducted all of his
business in writing.
As of the date of the trial, defendants were still in possession of the premises. Plaintiff’s
exhibits 1 through 8 were admitted into evidence.
Defense Case
Rosales testified that she worked part time for plaintiff and his wife “at all of their
properties.” In October 2020, plaintiff offered her a position as on-site manager at the premises
and said she would not need to pay rent as part of her compensation. She had “never paid any
rent to [plaintiff and] our verbal agreement said that it was free rent.” She moved into the
apartment on November 11, 2020, and started working immediately. On Thanksgiving of
2020, Rosales reconciled with Charlemagne, who was the father of her children. When Rosales
shared this development with plaintiff, he suggested, “why don’t I just move my family in?”
Plaintiff asked Rosales to “collect the rental application and run a credit check” on
Charlemagne and stated that he wanted a month-to-month lease for Charlemagne. The
application was approved and Charlemagne paid a security deposit and prorated rent. Rosales
“collected a $1,000 check from [Charlemagne] and drove it to [plaintiff’s] house.” Plaintiff
“endorsed all the checks and personally deposited the checks into his own account.” Defendant
Charlemagne moved in about six weeks after Rosales did.
On cross-examination Rosales testified that under the “additional occupants” section of
her rental application dated November 30, 2020, she listed Charlemagne as her spouse. She