Kelly v. Jones
Kelly v. Jones
Opinion of the Court
The landlord, Donald S. Kelly, brought a summary process action against the tenants, Kevin Jones and Jason McDowell, for nonpayment of rent. The tenants counterclaimed, alleging, among other things, breach of warranty of habitability and interference with quiet enjoyment. After a bench trial, the judge found for the landlord on his claim for four months of unpaid rent for a total of $4,800, and found for the tenants on
Background. We summarize the judge’s findings of fact. The landlord owns a two-family property in Roxbury, resides on the second floor, and leases the first floor. The tenants live on the first floor, paying a monthly rent of $1,200. For the months of November and December, 2009, and January and February, 2010, the tenants failed to pay rent. At a point in late October, 2009, the landlord determined that some conditions at the premises needed to be repaired, including a light over the kitchen sink, the smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, and a “lens” in the vestibule. The landlord notified the tenants, in writing, of the dates and times he would need access to the premises to complete the repairs. Although some repairs were completed, the landlord failed to fix a hole above the kitchen sink and to provide locks on the door to the premises. The relationship between the landlord and tenants became increasingly acrimonious during this time, and the judge found that the landlord engaged in conduct intended to jeopardize the tenants’ employment.
1. Warranty of habitability. The judge’s conclusion that the landlord breached the warranty of habitability due to “the failure to provide locks and the failure ... to completely repair the kitchen ceiling” is not clearly erroneous. See Wesson v. Leone Enterprises, Inc., 437 Mass. 708, 712 (2002). “The judge has
The judge determined that the breach of the warranty of habitability reduced the value of the premises by forty percent from the inception of the lease through the date of trial, for a total of $4,528.86. We see no abuse of discretion as this is not an award that “ ‘no conscientious judge, acting intelligently’ could have awarded.” Aronovitz v. Fafard, 78 Mass. App. Ct. 1, 9 (2010), quoting from Twin Fires Inv., LLC v. Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co., 445 Mass. 411, 425 (2005).
2. Covenant of quiet enjoyment. The covenant of quiet enjoyment pertains to “acts or omissions that impair the character and value of the [leased premises].” Doe v. New Bedford Hous. Authy., supra at 285. See Rahman v. Federal Mgmt. Co., 23 Mass. App. Ct. 701, 705 (1987), quoting from Winchester v. O’Brien, 266 Mass. 33, 36 (1929) (violation of covenant of quiet enjoyment connotes acts by landlord that “substantially ‘impair the character and value of the leased premises’ ”). Here, the judge found that the “[landlord’s] acts of discussing the [tenants] and their private business with other church members and attempting to sabotage the [tenants’] employment constitutes an interference with [the tenants’] quiet enjoyment of the Premises” pursuant to G. L. c. 186, § 14.
So much of the judgment as finds in favor of the tenants on their counterclaim for interference with their right to quiet enjoyment and awards them $3,600 is reversed. The remainder of the judgment finding in favor of the landlord for unpaid rent and awarding him $4,800, finding in favor of the tenants on their counterclaim for breach of the warranty of habitability and awarding them possession and $4,528.84, and dismissing the tenants’ remaining counterclaims is affirmed.
So ordered.
The tenants are employed as custodians at a church to which the landlord belongs. The tenants testified that “[the landlord] has been going throughout the congregation, speaking to other members regarding this incident.... Members have come and questioned [one tenant] about [his] private business, which has been told to them by [the landlord].” According to the tenants, the landlord would come into the church after they had finished cleaning and place trash on the floors to make it look like the tenants had failed to clean the church.
The statute provides in pertinent part: “Any lessor or landlord of any
Although the landlord’s conduct did not violate G. L. c. 186, § 14, we express no opinion as to the tenants’ rights otherwise to seek legal recourse related to that conduct.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Donald S. Kelly v. Kevin Jones & another
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- 4 cases
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- Published