Can someone be over the top?

[TiggerMalfoy]

So I have a friend who is having some issues with her son and his girlfriend.  A topic I am sure is popular around here.  I've had some conflicting issues as to what to do and what to tell her as I don't feel I have the "experience" to know how to handle the situation or how I would handle it.

So the issue is this very plain and simply. 
The mother let her son and girlfriend live in her parents house in another city.  The agreement was he was supposed to hold at least a B average in school and that they take care of the house as it is furnished.  At the ages of 24 and 22 respectively, the son and girlfriend did not get jobs nor pay rent.  They lived there for 13 months. 

During this time the girlfriend brought in a cat.  The cat was caught several times doing damage to the house drapes, chairs, carpet, and various other "small" bits of damage.  The cat moved in literally 2 months after the kids moved in together.  On the 4th month after finding numerous amounts of damage such as ripped up drapes, ripped up sofas ends and chairs, chewed on wooden furniture, and peed on carpet the mother demanded that the cat be taken out of the house.

The girlfriends mother apparently did not want the cat around either so the son, being how he is, allowed the girlfriend to keep the cat in the house and secretly would get the girlfriend a hotel when the mother visited every so often.  After 13 months and finding more and more damage in the house even though the son swore that there was no cat, the mom demanded that the girlfriend and her stuff be put out of the house. 

She did not however give them a "30" day notice and the girlfriend and son are at odds as to whether or not the girlfriend should try to pursue legal action against the mother. 

Does anyone feel the mother was over the top on this?  Granted the mother should have given them legally a 30 day notice, but after letting the kids live there for over a year without paying rent at all and having been lied to almost the entire time, I don't feel she was in the wrong, but at the same time I can semi see why the girlfriend would be angry. 

But would I be wrong if I felt the mother was out of line?

[MSugarKane]

Nov. 20, 2009 at 8:25 AM

No.  The mom was lied too. She is totally right.

[Dani32]

Nov. 20, 2009 at 8:50 AM

No.   I agree with the mom.  She was disrespected. 

[aliceinalgonac]

Nov. 20, 2009 at 2:13 PM

Completely agree with the mother. 

And as for "30 days notice" and "legal action"?  there was no contract.  there was no binding agreement.  They paid no rent. 

They were allowed to live rent-free for a year.  And behaved like spoiled-rotten ingrates. 

Good for her for kicking them out!