Location: Montana. Bought A House, Previous Occupant Left Belongings Behind, Now Threatening To Sue Me And Everyone Involved In The Cleanout.

Location: Montana. I purchased a house in Montana and closed on August 10, 2026. The purchase agreement included an amendment stating that any personal property remaining at the house after noon on closing day would become my property.

The seller and his girlfriend (who now claims she was a tenant) were off the property by noon. However, the seller's realtor and a cleanout crew were still removing belongings when I arrived around 1 p.m. They finished shortly afterward.

The following day, August 11, the seller's realtor returned with a horse trailer and a cleanout crew to retrieve belongings that the seller and his girlfriend had requested.

The realtor and crew selected the items and asked my permission before taking them. As far as I can remember, I approved every request. They loaded as much as they could fit into the trailer. I don't know whether those belongings ultimately made it back to the previous occupants.

The house still had a substantial amount of property left behind. A second cleanout company was hired, and I personally instructed them to clean everything out. I also may have discarded some remaining items myself. At the time, I believed the purchase agreement gave me ownership of anything left behind.

Fast-forward a couple of weeks, and the seller's girlfriend started threatening legal action against both realtors and the second cleanout company.

On August 26, she contacted the second cleanout company, claimed she had been a tenant, demanded their insurance information, and threatened a lawsuit for approximately $16,000 in lost belongings. The company did not respond.

On September 25, she sent me a demand letter claiming at least $20,000 in missing property, including dentures, coins, agates, and other personal belongings.

On October 14, she left me a voicemail saying she intended to file a lawsuit that day.

She has never contacted me directly to arrange retrieval of specific belongings before sending the demand letter. She has also never shown up at my house or personally threatened my family.

Both realtors have discussed the situation with their brokers, and neither brokerage believes the transaction or cleanout was handled improperly.

I understand that a purchase agreement between a buyer and seller might not necessarily transfer ownership of belongings belonging to a third party, even if those belongings were left in the house.

My questions are:

1. Does the amendment stating that remaining personal property became mine provide any legal protection if the girlfriend was not a party to the purchase agreement?

2. If she was legally considered a tenant, would that change how her belongings should have been handled?

3. Could I be personally liable for directing the second company to remove everything, even though I believed the purchase agreement authorized it?

4. Does allowing the realtor to retrieve everything they requested after closing help my defense?

5. Should I notify my homeowners insurance company about the threatened lawsuit?

6. Would this primarily be a dispute involving the seller, the realtors, the cleanout company, or could all of us potentially be liable?

I'm currently trying to find a Montana civil litigation attorney. One local firm I contacted isn't accepting new cases.

I'm not looking to avoid responsibility if something was genuinely handled incorrectly. I'm trying to understand my potential exposure as the buyer who relied on the signed purchase agreement.

Any insight from Montana attorneys or people familiar with similar real estate disputes would be appreciated.