Moreno v. Brittany Square Associates, L.P.

899 S.W.2d 261, 1995 WL 104125
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedApril 6, 1995
Docket14-94-00273-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 899 S.W.2d 261 (Moreno v. Brittany Square Associates, L.P.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Moreno v. Brittany Square Associates, L.P., 899 S.W.2d 261, 1995 WL 104125 (Tex. Ct. App. 1995).

Opinion

OPINION

YATES, Justice.

Appellant, Linda Moreno (Moreno), appeals from a summary judgment granted in favor of appellees, Brittany Square Associates, L.P., B.S. Partners, Inc., and Tarantino Properties, Inc., on the ground that Moreno faded to give notice of a property defect as required by the Texas Property Code. Because we find the Property Code inapplicable to Moreno’s personal injury claim, we reverse and remand.

Appellees owned and managed the Brittany Square Apartments. Moreno and her husband resided at the Brittany Square Apartments pursuant to a lease at the time of the incident. In 1993, Moreno filed suit against appellees for personal injuries allegedly sustained on September 1, 1991, when she fell on the stairs inside her apartment. Moreno alleged the incident resulted from appellees’ negligence in not providing rails on the stairway. Appellees denied Moreno’s allegation and asserted the affirmative defense that Moreno’s suit was barred by her failure to comply with the notice provisions in Chapter 92, Subchapter B of the Texas Property Code.

Appellees moved for summary judgment based solely on their affirmative defense. Moreno filed a response contending that the Property Code did not apply to her common law personal injury claim or to the management company, Tarantino, which did not purport to be the owner, lessor or sublessor of the property. After a hearing, the trial court granted appellees’ motion for summary judgment.

In her first point of error, Moreno contends the trial court erred in granting summary judgment because Chapter 92 of the Texas Property Code “does not prevent a *262 tenant from pursuing a negligence action against a landlord, even though the tenant did not comply with the notice requirements in the lease.”

A movant for summary judgment has the burden of showing that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that it is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Nixon v. Mr. Property Management, 690 S.W.2d 546, 548-49 (Tex.1985). A defendant may establish its entitlement to summary judgment by proving each element of its affirmative defense as a matter of law. Black v. Victoria Lloyds Ins. Co., 797 S.W.2d 20, 27 (Tex.1990). In deciding whether there is a disputed material fact issue precluding summary judgment, proof favorable to the non-movant is taken as true, the court indulging every reasonable inference and resolving all doubts in favor of the non-movant. Nixon, 690 S.W.2d at 548-49.

Moreno concedes she did not provide ap-pellees with written notice of the alleged property defect, but she contends this was unnecessary because the Property Code notice requirements do not apply to her personal injury claim based upon common law negligence. Appellees’ assert that, under Tex. Prop.Code Ann. § 92.061, the Property Code provides Moreno’s exclusive remedy for ap-pellees’ alleged failure to maintain and repair the leasehold and, therefore, Moreno’s failure to comply with the notice provisions of Sub-ehapter B, including sections 92.052 and 92.056 of the Property Code, bars her suit. Section 92.061 provides:

The duties of a landlord and the remedies of a tenant under this subehapter are in lieu of existing common law and other statutory law warranties and duties of landlords for maintenance, repair, security, habitability, and nonretaliation, and remedies of tenants for a violation of those warranties and duties. Otherwise, this subchapter does not affect any other right of a landlord or tenant under contract, statutory law or common law that is consistent with the purposes of this subchap-ter or any right a landlord or tenant may have to bring an action for personal injuries or property damage under the law of this state. This subehapter does not impose obligations on a landlord or tenant other than those expressly stated in this subchapter.

Tex.Prop.Code Ann. § 92.061 (Vernon Supp. 1995).

Both parties rely on Bolin Dev. Corp. v. Indart, 803 S.W.2d 817 (Tex.App.—Houston [14th Dist.]), writ denied per curiam, 814 S.W.2d 750 (Tex.1991), the only case specifically addressing section 92.061. In Bolin, the tenants sued their landlord for property damages caused by a fire in a rented residence. 803 S.W.2d at 818. The tenants alleged negligence and breach of an implied warranty of habitability. Id. The jury found the residence uninhabitable and awarded property damages. Id. The jury also found the landlord negligent in failing to correct an electrical problem, but that the negligence was not a proximate cause of the fire. Id.

On appeal, a panel of this court addressed whether the predecessor to section 92.061, which contained language almost identical to the current version, precluded a tenant from recovering property damage under the implied warranty of habitability. 803 S.W.2d at 818-19. After noting that “Texas law does not permit tenants to seek damages for personal injury under a breach of warranty of habitability theory,” and that the implied warranty of habitability first recognized in Kamarath v. Bennett, 568 S.W.2d 658 (Tex.1978) had been abrogated by statute, this court held that “no action for breach of the common law implied warranty of habitability exists for recovery of property damages.” 803 S.W.2d at 820. In so holding, the court also recognized that the tenants were not without a remedy because they could still bring a negligence cause of action against the landlord. Id. The Bolin court did not have before it the question presented to us.

Moreno alleges that appellees were negligent under the Restatement (Second) of Torts § 358 (1965) in failing to disclose a dangerous condition and that such negligence was a proximate cause of her injuries and damages. She does not allege violation of a statutory duty to repair nor does she seek termination of the lease or other relief enu *263 merated in sections 92.052 and 92.056. Section 358 of the Restatement contains one of the few common law exceptions to the general common law rule that a landlord is not liable for personal injury to a tenant or tenant’s guests resulting from a dangerous condition that existed when the lessee took possession. Garza-Vale v. Kwiecien, 796 S.W.2d 500, 502-3 (Tex.App.—San Antonio 1990, writ denied). Moreno claims that she can bring such an action without following the notice provisions of Subchapter B.

The purpose of Subchapter B, and its predecessor, art. 5236f, is to set forth the procedures tenants and landlords are to follow regarding conditions that need to be repaired on leased premises.

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899 S.W.2d 261, 1995 WL 104125, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/moreno-v-brittany-square-associates-lp-texapp-1995.