Steinberg v. Community Housing Services-Capital Villa, Ltd.

2014 UT App 102, 326 P.3d 673, 2014 WL 1830969
CourtCourt of Appeals of Utah
DecidedMay 8, 2014
DocketNo. 20130438-CA
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 2014 UT App 102 (Steinberg v. Community Housing Services-Capital Villa, Ltd.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Utah primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Steinberg v. Community Housing Services-Capital Villa, Ltd., 2014 UT App 102, 326 P.3d 673, 2014 WL 1830969 (Utah Ct. App. 2014).

Opinion

Memorandum Decision

BENCH, Senior Judge:

T1 Vladimir Steinberg (Tenant) appeals from the trial court's dismissal of his claims for conversion and violation of the right to quiet use and enjoyment. We affirm.2

12 In July 2008, Tenant moved into an apartment owned by Community Housing Services-Capitol Villa, Ltd. (Landlord). On March 25, 2011, Tenant delivered to Landlord a signed notice of intent to vacate (the Notice), indicating his intention to move out of the apartment no later than April 1. Tenant moved his furniture out of the apartment prior to April 1. Relying on the Notice, Landlord began renovating the apartment on April 4.

T3 In late April, Tenant filed a complaint against Landlord, alleging that Landlord had violated his right to quiet use and enjoyment. [675]*675According to Tenant, the Notice, which he had signed on March 25, indicated his plan to vacate thirty-five days later and entitled him to remain in the apartment until the end of April. Tenant therefore alleged that Landlord's April 4 entry into his apartment was an unlawful eviction. In addition, Tenant asserted a claim for conversion based on his allegations that Landlord retained control over cash and jewelry that Tenant had left in the apartment.

{4 The trial court held a bench trial on February 19, 2018. At the close of Tenant's case-in-chief, Landlord moved to dismiss, pursuant to rule 41(b) of the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure. In addressing Landlord's motion, the trial court found that Tenant's testimony was not eredible and contained numerous contradictions. The trial court then concluded that Tenant had failed to present credible evidence in support of his claims and therefore dismissed Tenant's case with prejudice. Tenant appeals.

15 Rule 41(b) provides, "After the plaintiff, in an action tried by the court without a jury, has completed the presentation of his evidence the defendant ... may move for a dismissal on the ground that upon the facts and the law the plaintiff has shown no right to relief" Utah R. Civ. P. 41(b). "A trial court may grant a motion for involuntary dismissal under rule 41(b) 'when the trial judge finds that the claimant has either failed to make out a prima facie case or when the trial judge is not persuaded by the evidence presented by the claimant'" Richards v. Cook, 2018 UT App 250, ¶ 5, 314 P.3d 1040 (quoting Lemon v. Coates, 735 P.2d 58, 60 (Utah 1987)). "Because the trial court in this case made findings of fact and granted the rule 41(b) motion based on its determination that it was unpersuaded by the evidence, we defer to the court's decision insofar as its findings are not clearly erroneous." See id. (citing Lemon, 735 P.2d at 60; Petty v. Gindy Mfg. Corp., 17 Utah 2d 32, 404 P.2d 30, 31 (1965)). "A finding is clearly erroneous only if the finding is without adequate evidentiary support or induced by an erroneous view of the law." Hale v. Big H Constr., Inc., 2012 UT App 283, ¶ 9, 288 P.3d 1046 (citation and internal quotation marks omitted). "Therefore, we will not disturb a finding unless it is against the clear weight of the evidence, or if [we] otherwise reach[ ] a definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been made." Id. (alterations in original) (citation and internal quotation marks omitted). Tenant challenges the trial court's involuntary dismissal of his two claims, arguing that the trial court's findings of fact are clearly erroneous.3

16 First, Tenant challenges the trial court's dismissal of his claim for violation of his right to quiet use and enjoyment, arguing that the trial court clearly erred in finding that Tenant no longer held a tenancy as of April 1, 2011. The covenant of quiet enjoyment protects a tenant from actual or constructive eviction by someone with superior title. See Cook Assocs., Inc. v. Utah Sch. & Institutional Trust Lands Admin., 2010 UT App 284, ¶ 30, 243 P.3d 888 ("[IJn Utah, the covenant of quiet enjoyment is synonymous with the covenant of warranty, both of which protect the grantee of a property interest from actual or constructive eviction by someone with superior title."). Here, Tenant essentially claims that Landlord actually evicted him by entering the apartment on April 4, 2011.

17 A plaintiff complaining of forcible entry or forcible detainer is required to show "that he was peaceably in the actual possession at the time of the forcible entry, or was entitled to the possession at the time of the forcible detainer." Utah Code Ann. § 78B-6-809 (LexisNexis 2012); see also Frisco Joes, Inc. v. Peay, 558 P.2d 1327, 1329-30 (Utah 1977) ("A necessary predicate to [a] cause of action for forcible entry is that [the [676]*676plaintiff is] in actual and peaceable possession of the property. [A plaintiff cannot] be so if there [has] been abandonment or a surrender of the premises." (footnote omitted); Wangsgard v. Fitzpatrick, 542 P.2d 194, 195 (Utah 1975) ("Plaintiff, not being in actual possession of the premises or entitled to the possession, cannot sustain an action for forcible entry; and for the same reason cannot sustain an action for wrongful evietion."). If a tenant has given the landlord a notice of intent to vacate and has terminated his tenancy, he is no longer in actual possession of the premises. Cf. Coleman v. Thomas, 2000 UT 53, ¶ 14, 4 P.3d 783 (explaining that "the act of giving notice ... triggers the termination of the lease" for a periodic tenancy).

T8 In this case, the trial court found that Tenant signed and delivered a written notice of intent to vacate, which indicated his intent to move out of the apartment no later than April 1, 2011. The trial court also found that Tenant moved his furniture out of the apartment prior to April 1. The trial court therefore found that Tenant terminated his tenancy by delivering the Notice and that Landlord's reliance on the Notice was reasonable. The trial court also determined that Tenant vacated the apartment effective April 1.

T9 Tenant argues that the trial court clearly erred in finding that he no longer held a tenancy as of April 1 because the trial court failed to consider the evidence to the contrary. Specifically, Tenant claims that the trial court did not consider his testimony that he intended to move by the end of April rather than by the beginning of April, the evidence that Tenant had paid rent for the month of April, and the evidence that Landlord refunded his deposit, which was contingent upon Tenant having given a thirty-day notice of his intent to vacate.

T10 When "there is conflicting evidence, we defer to the trial court as the factfinder," and "(tlhe existence of conflicting evidence does not give rise to clear error as long as evidence supports the trial court's decision." Hale v. Big H Constr., Inc., 2012 UT App 283, ¶ 60, 288 P.3d 1046 (citation and internal quotation marks omitted). Here, there is evidence in the record to support the trial court's findings. In particular, Tenant testified that on March 25, 2011, he informed Landlord's apartment manager (Manager) of his intent to move.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Nassi v. Hatsis
2023 UT App 9 (Court of Appeals of Utah, 2023)
Hofheins v. Bajio Mountain W. LLC
2017 UT App 238 (Court of Appeals of Utah, 2017)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2014 UT App 102, 326 P.3d 673, 2014 WL 1830969, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/steinberg-v-community-housing-services-capital-villa-ltd-utahctapp-2014.