Murray v. Zullo

20 Mass. L. Rptr. 293
CourtMassachusetts Superior Court
DecidedDecember 20, 2005
DocketNo. 040385
StatusPublished

This text of 20 Mass. L. Rptr. 293 (Murray v. Zullo) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Massachusetts Superior Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Murray v. Zullo, 20 Mass. L. Rptr. 293 (Mass. Ct. App. 2005).

Opinion

Sanders, Janet L., J.

This case concerns various disputes between a landlord (the defendants) and their tenant (the plaintiff), who vacated the premises in October 2003 and subsequently lost a summary process action filed against her in District Court. The plaintiff alleges numerous statutory and common-law violations, and the defendants have counterclaimed, alleging that certain changes that she made to the premises during her tenancy have caused them damage. The matter is now before the Court on Cross Motions for Summary Judgment. For the following reasons, this Court concludes the plaintiffs motion must be Denied and the defendants’ motion must be Allowed.

[294]*294 BACKGROUND

The following facts are either undisputed or this Court assumes to be true for purposes of these motions. On February 8, 2001, plaintiff Donna Murray and the defendants, Edward and Maureen Zullo, signed a lease (the “Lease”) for premises located at 91-P Union Street in Natick (the “Apartment”), The Zullos also signed a Housing Assistance Payments contract (the “HAP Contract”) with the Framingham Housing Authority (“FHA”) as part of the Section 8 subsidized housing program. Before the Lease and HAP Contract were signed, the FHA inspected the Apartment and found it passed all applicable inspection criteria. The FHA continued to make annual inspections thereafter.

Both the Lease and the HAP Contract recited a total monthly rent of $900: $365 of this amount was to be paid by Murray, with the remainder paid to the Zullos by the FHA. Unbeknownst to the FHA, the Zullos and Murray also entered into a side agreement whereby Murray would pay an additional $ 100 a month in rent.

During her tenancy, Murray made several modifications to the Apartment, including, but not limited to: adding a deck, repairing the ceiling, changing lighting and cabinetiy in the kitchen, and adding a bedroom to the'Apartment. The Zullos paid the labor costs for the ceiling and electrical work. Murray had a parking space, initially located not far from her front door. As the tenancy progressed, the location of the space was changed, moving it further away. Murray suffers from some unspecified disability.

Murray’s tenancy was uneventful until the spring of 2003. In April 2003, Murray began to pay the electric bill, previously paid by the Zullos; she fell behind in her payments. In May 2003, Murray got a dog, and a disagreement ensued about whether she was allowed to keep a pet (the Lease stating that she was not). On August 21, 2003, Murray’s daughter (previously in the custody of the Department of Social Services) moved into the Apartment. The Lease provided that Murray was to be the sole occupant. The FHA told Murray that her daughter could not live at the Apartment without the Zullos’ written permission, which they refused to give. On September 15, 2003, the FHA wrote the Zullos that Murray’s daughter was occupying the Apartment without its permission.

On September 19, 2003, the Board of Health inspected the Apartment at Murray’s behest and found several violations of the State Sanitary Code. When the Zullos contacted the Board about the inspection three days later, they were informed for the first time that the Apartment itself was not legal. As a result of this determination, the Board on October 2, 2003 ordered that the Apartment be vacated within 60 days.

In the meantime, the Zullos had served Murray with a 30-day Notice to Quit. This Notice sought Murray’s eviction based on alleged violations of her Lease, including, among other things, the occupancy of the Apartment by her daughter and the keeping of a pet. Thereafter, the Zullos filed a summary process action in Natick District Court. Murray did not file an answer or other responsive pleading. Murray had located another apartment through the FHA and moved into the new apartment on or about October 31, 2003.

On November 13, 2003, the summary process action was set down for a bench trial. Murray appeared at the trial representing herself. She did not assert any counterclaim or affirmative defenses. The parties stipulate that the district court (Singer, J.) found for the Zullos and entered a judgment for possession in their favor.

DISCUSSION

The plaintiffs Amended Complaint as well as her memorandum filed in connection with these motions allege a hodgepodge of facts and legal theories. Count I (alleging a violation of G.L.c. 186, §18) and Count II (alleging a violation of G.L.c. 186, §14) stem directly from her tenancy and the conditions existing at the time she occupied the Apartment. This Court concludes that these claims could and should have been litigated in the summaiy process action and cannot be relitigated here. Counts III and IV (alleging a breach of contract) primarily stem from the parties’ side agreement that Murray pay an extra $ 100 a month to the Zullos in rent. To the extent that this was in violation of FHA rules, however, only the FHA has the standing to challenge the arrangement. Count V alleges a violation of G.L.c. 93A which, based on the record before the Court, plaintiff has no reasonable expectation of proving. Count VII alleges a violation of G.L.c. 151B, but the plaintiff never filed a complaint with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (“MCAD”), thus requiring dismissal of this claim. In the final analysis, all that survives the defendants’ motion for summary judgment here is Count VI of Plaintiffs Amended Complaint (alleging unjust enrichment). As to that count, the defendants have a Counterclaim, which also remains in the case. What follows is the Court’s reasoning as to the conclusions set forth above.

A. Count I and Count II: Violations of G.L.c. 186, §18 and 186 §14

The factual allegations that the plaintiff cites in support of these two counts include the following. First, the Apartment contained numerous violations of the State Sanitary Code, in breach of the warranty of habitability and of the implied covenant of quiet enjoyment. Second, the Zullos sent their Notice to Quit three days after the Apartment inspection finding sanitary code violations, thus creating a rebuttable presumption that her eviction was in retaliation for Murray’s complaints. Third, beginning in April 2003, the Zullos required Murray to pay the electric bill even though the Lease had provided that the Zullos pay; this transfer was therefore in violation of G.L.c. 186, §14. All ofthese allegations relate to the terms and conditions of her tenancy, which Murray could and should have litigated in the summary process action. [295]*295They are therefore barred by the doctrine of claim preclusion.

The doctrine of claim preclusion (or res judicata) makes a final judgment in a prior action conclusive on a party and its privies, and prevents relitigation of all matters that were or could have been adjudicated in the action. Blanchette v. School Comm’n of Westwood, 427 Mass. 176, 179 n.3 (1998). There are three essential elements to the doctrine of claim preclusion: “(1) the identity or privity of the parties to the present and prior actions;' (2) the identity of the cause of action; and (3) a prior final judgment on the merits.” TLT Constr. Corp. v. A. Anthony Tappe and Assocs., Inc., 48 Mass.App.Ct. 1, 4, (1999), quoting Gloucester Marine Rys. Corp. v. Charles Parisi, Inc., 36 Mass.App.Ct.

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Bluebook (online)
20 Mass. L. Rptr. 293, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/murray-v-zullo-masssuperct-2005.