Suppose a tenant T sues their landlord L because of unlawful withholding of T's deposit - the landlord did not follow procedures in charging T the cleaning fee, and deducted $125 without any explanation even upon T's request. T has a case here.
After winning this, can the landlord sue T for the cleaning fee again? He is threatening to counterclaim saying that he has evidence (only after pictures, no before pictures) and roommates' testimonies (but they are also co-responsible for the cleaning) but they are all groundless and he can't prove that they were committed by me. Also, at this point if L files a counterclaim, it will be 30 days after T's move-out. So the question is, if L did not provide an explanation or an itemized list for the charges, can he counterclaim about cleaning?