Wellston Housing Authority v. Murphy

131 S.W.3d 378, 2004 Mo. App. LEXIS 399, 2004 WL 555610
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedMarch 23, 2004
DocketED 83156
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 131 S.W.3d 378 (Wellston Housing Authority v. Murphy) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Wellston Housing Authority v. Murphy, 131 S.W.3d 378, 2004 Mo. App. LEXIS 399, 2004 WL 555610 (Mo. Ct. App. 2004).

Opinions

WILLIAM H. CRANDALL, JR., Judge.

Plaintiff, Wellston Housing Authority, appeals from the judgment of the trial court, in a court-tried case, in favor of defendant, Marilyn Murphy, in an action for unlawful detainer. We affirm.

The facts establish that beginning in January 2002, defendant, Marilyn Murphy (hereinafter tenant), entered into a subsidized federal housing lease with defendant, the Wellston Housing Authority (hereinafter Housing Authority), for the rental of an apartment located at 1527 Wellston Place, Number 108. The terms of the lease provided that the lease could be terminated for criminal activity by the tenant, any household member, a guest, or other person under the tenant’s control, “including but not limited to: (i) any criminal activity that threatens the health, safety, or right to peaceful enjoyment of the premises by other public housing residents; (ii) any drug-related activity on or [379]*379off such premises.” The lease also imposed on the tenant the obligation to assure that the tenant, any household member, a guest, or another person under tenant’s control not to engage in “(a) [a]ny criminal activity that threatens the health, safety, or right to peaceful enjoyment of the Management’s public housing premises by other residents or employees of Management, or (b) [a]ny drug-related criminal activity on or off such premises ... or (c) [a]ny illegal use of a controlled substance, or any abuse of alcohol....”

Housing Authority became aware that Morris Lockett, who had felony convictions and had been released from prison recently, was visiting tenant. In June, tenant met with the executive director of Housing Authority to discuss Lockett. Tenant said that Lockett was merely a visitor. When tenant inquired about adding him to the lease, however, she was informed of his criminal record. Housing Authority orally told tenant that Lockett was barred from the property because of his criminal record. Tenant agreed to not allow Lockett onto the property. On July 28, 2002, Lockett visited tenant and Housing Authority had him arrested for trespassing.

On July 29, 2002, the property manager for Housing Authority delivered to tenant a notice of termination of the lease for allowing a person with a criminal history to reside in her unit. The lease was terminated effective August 2, 2002. Tenant refused to leave the premises. On August 7, 2002, the property manager hand delivered to tenant a supplemental notice of termination, notifying her that her lease was terminated for “having an unauthorized male ... with a criminal record residing in your apartment and/or inviting a male ... with a criminal record to your unit after being told of his criminal conviction and that he was not allowed to come on any Wellston Housing Authority’s property, and/or placing other residents in danger because of [his] prior criminal activity, all in violation of [the] lease.... ” The notice stated that tenant had to deliver possession of the premises within three days of receiving the notice or by August 10. Tenant still refused to vacate the apartment. In December 2002, Housing Authority filed an unlawful detainer action against tenant.

After a trial, the trial court entered judgment in favor of tenant. Housing Authority appeals from the judgment.1

In appeals from unlawful detainer actions, our review is governed by Murphy v. Carron, 536 S.W.2d 30, 32 (Mo. banc 1976). We review the evidence in the light most favorable to the prevailing party, giving that party the benefit of all reasonable inferences and disregarding contrary evidence and inferences. Bach v. McGrath, 982 S.W.2d 734, 735 (Mo.App. E.D.1998).

In its first point, Housing Authority contends that the trial court erred in entering judgment in favor of tenant because it was entitled to terminate her lease because of the extensive criminal record of her guest.2 The trial court, however, [380]*380found that “there was no credible evidence adduced at trial that there was any drug crime, violent crime or other criminal conduct committed by the Tenant or by a member of her household or a guest, including Morris Lockett.... There was no evidence presented that Lockett’s presence caused any ‘emergency situation to arise.’ ”

Housing Authority first argues that 42 U.S.C. section 1437d©(6) grants it the discretion to terminate tenant’s lease. That statute requires public housing leases to “provide that any criminal activity that threatens the health, safety, or right to peaceful enjoyment of the premises by other tenants or any drug-related criminal activity on or off such premises, engaged in by a public housing tenant, any member of the tenant’s household, or any guest or other person under the tenant’s control, shall be cause for termination of tenancy.” Housing Authority says that Lockett’s convictions for second degree murder, sexual assault, and burglary demonstrated that he was a threat to the safety of the other tenants of the premises. It argues that Lockett’s criminal record constituted “any criminal activity” under the federal statute.

Here, however, the evidence did not establish that Lockett’s criminal record fell within the “criminal activity” intended by the statute. Lockett’s criminal conduct did not occur during the term of tenant’s lease. Lockett’s criminal activity and his sentences therefor occurred prior to his becoming tenant’s guest during the term of tenant’s lease. It strains construction to construe “any criminal activity ... of a guest” to include criminal conduct that occurred prior to the tenant’s lease term.

Housing Authority cites several decisions to support its position that it can terminate a public housing tenancy on the basis of the criminal activity of a tenant’s guest. But, the cases are distinguishable from the present case because the criminal conduct in those cases did not occur prior to the tenant’s lease term, but occurred contemporaneously in time with the effective period of the tenant’s lease. See Dept. of Housing and Urban Development v. Rucker, 535 U.S. 125, 122 S.Ct. 1230, 152 L.Ed.2d 258 (2002) (lease termination proper where members of the household or guests engaged in drug-related activity during leases); Burton v. Tampa Housing Authority, 271 F.3d 1274 (11th Cir.2001) (lease termination proper where tenant’s son, who was added to the lease as a household member, engaged in drug-related activity); Housing Authority of Joliet v. Chapman, 336 Ill.App.3d 347, 269 Ill. Dec. 382, 780 N.E.2d 1106 (2002) (lease properly terminated where tenant’s son, who was still residing in the unit, was in possession of drugs); Ann Arbor Housing Commission v. Wells, 240 Mich.App. 610, 618 N.W.2d 43 (2000) (lease properly terminated where tenant’s brother, who was tenant’s guest on a temporary basis, was selling drugs); and Powell v. Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh, 571 Pa.

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Wellston Housing Authority v. Murphy
131 S.W.3d 378 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2004)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
131 S.W.3d 378, 2004 Mo. App. LEXIS 399, 2004 WL 555610, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wellston-housing-authority-v-murphy-moctapp-2004.