Multani v. Knight

233 Cal. Rptr. 3d 537, 23 Cal. App. 5th 837
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal, 5th District
DecidedMay 24, 2018
DocketB276508
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 233 Cal. Rptr. 3d 537 (Multani v. Knight) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal, 5th District primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Multani v. Knight, 233 Cal. Rptr. 3d 537, 23 Cal. App. 5th 837 (Cal. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

WILLHITE, Acting P.J.

*840The primary question presented in this case is: Can a landlord be held liable to a commercial tenant for damage to the tenant's property resulting from an alleged sewer backup when the tenant (who had a month-to-month tenancy in the premises after her lease expired) had stopped paying rent, had been served (but failed to comply) with a three-day notice to pay rent or quit, and had been named in an unlawful detainer action filed before the alleged sewer backup occurred? We find that the month-to-month tenancy was terminated by the tenant's failure to pay rent coupled with the landlord's filing of the wrongful detainer action. Therefore, as of the filing of the wrongful detainer action, *541the tenant was a tenant at sufferance who had no lawful right to possession of the premises. Accordingly, the landlord is not liable for damage to the tenant's property left on the premises when that damage was not caused by the landlord's intentional act or negligence.

In this case, plaintiff Salima Multani (Salima1 ), who operated a medical clinic in a space she leased from defendant Evelyn Knight, brought claims against Knight for conversion, breach of the covenant of quiet enjoyment, nuisance, negligent maintenance of property and/or strict liability (negligence/strict liability), negligent interference with contract relations (contract interference), and violations of Business and Professions Code section 17200 ( section 17200 ). The trial court granted Knight's motion for summary adjudication as to all of the claims except the contract interference claim, finding that Salima was not lawfully on the premises when the alleged sewage spill occurred. The contract interference claim went to trial before a jury, and the jury found in favor of Knight, finding that the alleged contractual or economic relationship did not exist.

On appeal, Salima contends the trial court erred by granting summary adjudication because a tenant who does not pay rent retains all legal rights of *841possession up until the time she is dispossessed following the successful conclusion of an unlawful detainer action. She also contends the jury's verdict was not supported by substantial evidence. Neither contention has merit. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment.

BACKGROUND

A. Facts Leading to the Lawsuit

The following facts are, for the most part, undisputed.2

Knight owned commercial property located in Long Beach, California (the premises). She entered into a five-year lease for the premises with Salima in 1993, with rent due on or before the first of every month. Salima, who was a physician, ran a medical clinic on the premises. In 1998, Knight and Salima entered into a second five-year lease. After that lease expired in 2003, Salima continued to pay the agreed-upon rent on or before the first day of every month, and Knight accepted those payments; thus by law, Salima had a month-to-month tenancy beginning in 2003 under the same terms as the expired lease.

In or before May 2011, Dr. Boniface Onubah heard from Salima's son Rahim that Salima was winding down her medical practice, and he asked about the future of the clinic. He was told that the clinic, including its health contracts and equipment, would be available for purchase. On May 26, 2011, Onubah purportedly entered into a written agreement with Salima to purchase the clinic for $400,000.3 The sale *542was supposed to close in January 2012, but it did not go through.

In July 2011, Salima was experiencing knee problems and stopped working at the clinic.4 She failed to pay rent for July 2011, and paid no rent thereafter.

*842In early December 2011, Knight caused a three-day notice to pay rent or quit to be conspicuously posted on the premises, with a copy mailed to Salima. Salima did not respond to the notice.

On December 9, 2011, Knight filed an unlawful detainer action against Salima. Salima defaulted, and judgment was entered in favor of Knight. Knight obtained a writ of possession, and Salima was evicted from the premises on May 17, 2012.

In the meantime, according to Rahim and Khaleel, sometime between late December 2011 and January 6, 2012, the sewer line for the premises had backed up, causing raw sewage to flow from all of the sinks, contaminating all of the medical equipment, supplies, and patient files for the clinic, rendering them unusable. As a result, the sale to Onubah could not be completed.

B. The Present Lawsuit

A year and a half after she was evicted, Salima filed the instant lawsuit against Knight, alleging claims for conversion, breach of the covenant of quiet enjoyment, nuisance, negligence/strict liability, contract interference, and violations of section 17200. In the complaint, Salima is named as "an individual d/b/a FAMILY HEALTH SERVICES MEDICAL CLINIC."

Knight filed a cross-complaint against Salima seeking the rent Salima failed to pay from July 2011 until she was evicted. Knight also alleged claims for nuisance and negligence based upon water damage to the premises that occurred while Salima was in sole possession of the premises.5

1. The Motion for Summary Judgment/Adjudication

a. Knight's Motion

Knight filed a motion for summary judgment or summary adjudication of each of Salima's claims. She argued that Salima could not prevail on any of her claims because she was unlawfully on the premises at all times after July 1, 2011, and was illegally on the premises after December 9, 2011. She also argued that (1) the conversion claim failed because Salima abandoned and did not try to recover her property left on the premises; (2) the breach of the covenant of quiet enjoyment failed because Salima's occupancy of the premises was illegal after December 9, 2011, and because this claim did not *843exist for commercial property as a matter of law; (3) the nuisance claim failed because Salima's occupancy of the premises was illegal and there was no evidence of a legally sufficient nuisance; (4) the negligence/strict liability claim failed because Salima's occupancy of the premises was illegal, there was no strict liability as a matter of law, and Knight was not negligent; (5) the contract *543interference claim failed because Salima did not have a contract to sell her business, but even if she did, Knight was unaware of it and did nothing to harm any alleged relationship, and Salima sustained no damages; and (6) the section 17200 claim failed because all the underlying claims failed, there was no business practice within the meaning of that statute, and Salima sustained no actual injury.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
233 Cal. Rptr. 3d 537, 23 Cal. App. 5th 837, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/multani-v-knight-calctapp5d-2018.