Texas law now provides that a lease terminates when a tenant dies, if the tenant’s estate gives notice to the landlord of the death and removes the deceased tenant’s belongings within 30 days. 2019 Tex. H.B. 69, codified at Tex. Prop. Code §92.0162.
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The Eleventh Circuit has held a commercial landlord liable for its tenant’s sales of counterfeit sunglasses when it knew of those sales and failed to stop them. Luxottica Group, S.p.A. v. Airport Mini Mall LLC, 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 23555 (11th Cir. 2019). The claim was for contributory trademark infringement under the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. §1114.
Mall owners liable for commercial tenant’s sales of counterfeit sunglasses Read More »
Most states find landlords liable to tenants injured in leased premises if the landlord acted negligently. That rule impose a duty on the landlord to act reasonably to avoid dangerous conditions in the premises that are leased. State housing codes and the implied warranty of habitability also place duties of repair and maintenance on landlords whose breach can result in tort liability to the tenant if the landlord acted unreasonably and cause an unreasonable risk of harm. The Virginia Supreme Court however, held that state statutes that impose maintenance obligations on landlords did not intend to alter the common law immunity landlords previously enjoyed from negligence claims by tenants. Isbell v. Commercial Inv. Assocs., Inc., 644 S.E.2d 72 (Va. 2007). In contrast, innkeepers do have such duties since they have greater access to and control over the premises.
Responding to a lawsuit filed by the National Fair Housing Alliance and others that alleged discrimination against families with children, women, persons with disabilities, and on the basis of national origin, Facebook announced changes in its policies to avoid engaging in discriminatory advertisements. Brakkton Booker, After Lawsuits, Facebook Announces Changes to Alleged Discriminatory Ad Targeting, Mar. 19, 2019. See also Tracy Jan & Elizabeth Dwoskin, HUD is reviewing Twitter’s and Google’s ad practices as part of housing discrimination probe, Wash. Post, Mar. 28, 2019.
Oregon’s new statewide rent control statute limits annual rent increases to 7 percent (plus the consumer price index). Or. Stat. §90.323 (2019 Ore. Laws 1).
Oregon enacts statewide rent control law Read More »
Persons in need of financial assistance to afford housing are in a variety of categories of persons protected by the Fair Housing Act. African Americans are more likely than white persons to be poor; women of all races are more likely to be poor than men; persons with disabilities are more likely to need government assistance than those who are temporarily abled; and children are much more likely to be poor than adults. It would seem easy to show that refusing to rent to persons who are eligible for and who receive housing vouchers from the federal government (so-called Section 8 certificates) causes a disparate impact based on race, disability, sex, and familial status that may be unlawful under the Fair Housing Act unless the impact can be justified by a sufficient strong business objective that cannot be achieved in a less discriminatory way. However, the 5th Circuit rejected a
The Massachusetts Land Court has ruled that a town may amend its zoning ordinance to prohibit Airbnb use and that retroactive application of the new law to those who established Airbnb use before it was passed is lawful. The owner had no right to have the prior Airbnb use “grandfathered in” as a prior nonconforming use under state statutes. Styller v. Aylward, 2018 Mass. LCR LEXIS 194 (Mass. Land Ct. 2018).
Town can alter zoning law retroactively to prohibit Airbnb use Read More »
Although cities enjoy sovereign immunity from suit when they act in a sovereign capacity, they can be sued by tenants of land they have leased when they act in a “proprietary” capacity. Wasson Interests, Ltd. V. City of Jacksonville, 2018 Tex. LEXIS 999 (Tex. 2018). Cities act in a governmental capacity (and are immune from suit) when they perform traditional government functions for the benefit of the public or when they act at the direction of the state. Here the court found that the leases were made in a proprietary fashion (a) when they engage in acts solely for the benefit of those in the cities; and (b) when it had no obligation to lease the lots to private parties; and (c) it was not acting as a branch of the state when it leased the property.
A court has held that a tenant can be evicted for allowing her adult son to live with her when his name was not on the lease along with hers, making him an unlawful occupant. Atlantic Tambone Mgmt. v. Mejia, 2017 WL 4181374 (Mass. Dist. Ct. App. Div. 2017). The reason for the eviction also rested on the fact that the son had stolen a television that had been delivered to the building for another tenant, thus violating a lease provision that prohibited interfering with the quiet enjoyment of neighboring tenants.
Tenant can be evicted for allowing adult son to live with her Read More »
The Third Circuit has ruled that the federal statute, 42 U.S.C. §1437f(t)(1)(B), that gives Section 8 (housing voucher) tenants the right to “remain in their housing developments, even after their landlord has opted out of the federal housing assistance program,” gives them the right to stay unless just cause can be shown to evict have the right to remain even if the lease term has expired. Hayes v. Harvey, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 24848 (3d Cir. 2018).
