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, fuming, wrote:

On Thu, 21 Jul 2005 18:47:25 GMT, someone wrote:

That wouldn't be conclusive evidence in this case - continuing my
role as lying tenant...

Poor sap, you misunderstand what legal "proof" IS. "Proof" is
Poor? Well, that bit's way out anyway!

evidence that is believed by the judge (in a bench trial) or jury (in
a jury trial). Testimony can be proof. If the judge/jury believes
one witness and not the other, the believable one's case is "proved".

You may be right.
I would of course, have retained a first class attorney to plead my case ....
and hope the landlord had an inferior lawyer.

People all the time think that all they have to do is come up with
some alternate story, and they will get off because it can't be
"proved" otherwise. Uhh uhh.

I'd have said, that I, as lying tenant, wouldn't have to prove a
thing.It's up to the
prosecution or plaintiff to prove the case to the satisfaction of the
judge, I'd have thought. But see below. .

Now if the judge/jury doesn't know who to believe, then the Plaintiff
can't win. But a "civil" matter doesn't even need to be proven
"beyond a reasonable doubt" (that's for criminal trails). It only
needs to be "preponderance of the evidence" so 51% can do it.

I'll take my chance!

Actually I asked my real estate agent who also manages some investment
)leased) property for me, what she made of this one, and she
opined that while she didn't know the law in.... California was it,
here in Texas a landlord would have to call in a carpet
fitter/cleaning or similar expert to declare inwriting that the smell did
emanate from the carpets;
this could apparently be laid before a judge as part of the
landlord'scase.
And in any case, regardless of who had been smoking in the premises,
it seems that the carpeting would have to be replaced or restored at
the tenant's cost to its original condition as it had been at the
start of the lease.
But that is in Texas, so may not be of much help to the original
inquirer.
--
Ian