Past roommate wants me to pay rent and give back gifts

Location: California I recently moved out of my former roommate's apartment. I was not on the lease nor does the agreement he typed up and made me sign have a clause that says I must pay him. (His landlord was not aware I was living there and he actively used to push me out of the apartment during inspections.) He gave me his old laptop and a few accessories for the switch a few months before I left and is now demanding them back along with money equal to the rent that I used to pay him. Is it legal for him to take me to court over this?

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