Woodland Manor Apartments v. Flowers

39 Pa. D. & C.4th 202, 1998 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 119
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Lehigh County
DecidedNovember 4, 1998
Docketno. 96-C-0201
StatusPublished

This text of 39 Pa. D. & C.4th 202 (Woodland Manor Apartments v. Flowers) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Lehigh County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Woodland Manor Apartments v. Flowers, 39 Pa. D. & C.4th 202, 1998 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 119 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1998).

Opinion

REIBMAN, J.,

Before the court is plaintiff’s action of ejectment and assumpsit. It pre[203]*203sents the question of whether a tenant in federally assisted housing is strictly liable for the actions of members of her household or guests, i.e., whether the tenant may be evicted from her apartment when not personally at fault for a breach of her lease or without prior knowledge of its breach.

Delphia Flowers, defendant, has resided in a residential apartment owned by Woodland Manor Apartments, plaintiff, at 441 Central Boulevard, Bethlehem, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, since 1989. On July 13, 1995, law enforcement officers, acting on information that defendant’s brother, Antrone Flowers, was en route to defendant’s apartment from Oklahoma with a quantity of illegal drugs and a handgun in a vehicle registered in Oklahoma, and pursuant to a warrant, forced their entry in defendant’s apartment within one hour after Antrone’s arrival. A search of the premises found narcotics and narcotics paraphernalia in an upstairs bedroom used by another brother, Randy Flowers, and a handgun in the trunk of a vehicle registered in Oklahoma. Antrone and Randy were arrested and subsequently convicted of various drug offenses.

There is no basis to believe defendant knew of the presence of the drugs or the paraphernalia in her apartment, consented to it, or even foresaw that they would be there. She was not charged with any offense. An investigating police officer testified he had no reason to believe she was part of the illegal activity. Defendant denied any knowledge or suspicion of the drugs or the paraphernalia. In fact, she testified she had not been on the second floor of the apartment since becoming a quadriplegic as a result of an automobile accident in 1993, and stayed on the first floor with one of her two minor children who has cerebral palsy. Her other child occupied one, and Randy occupied the other, of [204]*204the upstairs bedrooms. Her caretakers, who were at the apartment daily, denied ever seeing or suspecting the presence of any drugs or paraphernalia at the apartment. Plaintiff’s property manager, who thoroughly inspected the premises as recently as one month before the drugs were discovered, denied any knowledge or suspicion of drugs or paraphernalia.

Plaintiff’s apartment complex is a section 8 “new construction” project. As such, it is subject to federal law and regulations promulgated thereunder. Goodwin v. Rodriguez, 520 Pa. 296, 304, 554 A.2d 6, 9 (1989). The United States Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. §1437 et seq., as amended, requires the lease agreement between the tenant and the owner of the apartment unit provide: “any drug-related criminal activity on or near such premises, engaged in by a tenant of any unit, 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.” 42 U.S.C. §1437f(d)(l)(B)(iii).

The regulations which pertain to the “new construction” program, 24 C.F.R. §880 et seq., specify, inter alia, the only grounds upon which the owner may terminate the tenancy, viz:

“The owner may not terminate any tenancy except upon the following grounds:
“(i) Material noncompliance with the lease;
“(ii) Material failure to carry out obligations under any state landlord and tenant act;
“(in) Any . . . drug-related criminal activity on or near such premises, engaged in by a resident, any member of the resident’s household, or any guest or other person under the resident’s control shall be grounds for termination of tenancy.” 24 C.F.R. §880.607(b)(l).

[205]*205The legislative history of the amendments to the Housing Act provides:

“Termination of tenancy — The bill includes language to permit evictions from section 8 existing housing for criminal activity, including drug-related criminal activity. It is based on a similar provision contained in the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 governing public housing leases .... The committee assumes that if the tenant had no knowledge of the criminal activity or took reasonable steps to prevent it, then good cause to evict the innocent family members would not exit [sic].” S. Rep. no. 316,101st Cong., 2d Sess. 179(1990). reprinted in 1990 U.S.C.C.A.N. 5763, 5889.

This history reveals an intent that eviction is appropriate only if the tenant is personally at fault for a breach of the lease, i.e., if the tenant had knowledge of the criminal activities, or if the tenant had taken no reasonable steps under the circumstances to prevent the activity. See Syracuse Housing Authority v. Boule, 658 N.Y.S.2d 776 (City Ct. 1996); Charlotte Housing Authority v. Patterson, 464 S.E.2d 68 (N.C. App. 1995).1

[206]*206The lease agreement between the parties is, at best, ambiguous as to whether the tenant may be strictly liable for the actions of the members of her household or guest. In pertinent part, it provides: “[t]he landlord may terminate this agreement only for:

“(1) The tenant’s material noncompliance with the terms of this agreement.
“(2) The tenant’s material failure to carry out obligations under state Landlord and Tenant Act; or
“(3) 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 near such premises, engaged in by a tenant, any member of the tenant’s household, or any guest or other person under the tenant’s control . . . .” Lease agreement, paragraph 23(b).

“Notwithstanding any other provision of this lease, the tenant, members of tenant’s household, guests of tenant and other persons under tenant’s control shall not engage in unlawful activity, including drug-related criminal activity, in the tenant’s unit or on the project premises, and such unlawful activity shall be cause for termination of tenancy. ‘Drug-related activity’ means the illegal manufacture, sale, distribution, use, or possession of a controlled substance as defined in section 102 of the United States Controlled Substances Act, 21 U.S. Code §802. Criminal conviction under federal, [207]*207state or local law shall not be a precondition for termination of tenancy.” Lease agreement, paragraph 13(c).

And finally:

“Illegal drugs and transactions involving illegal drugs are strictly prohibited.
“The head of household shall not do or permit any act which violates any law concerning illegal drugs.
“These acts include, without limitation, possession, use, distribution, transportation, sale, manufacture and storage of illegal drugs.

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Related

Charlotte Housing Authority v. Patterson
464 S.E.2d 68 (Court of Appeals of North Carolina, 1995)
Syracuse Housing Authority v. Boule
172 Misc. 2d 254 (Syracuse City Court, 1996)
Goodwin v. Rodriguez
554 A.2d 6 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1989)
Denoncourt v. Commonwealth
457 A.2d 213 (Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 1983)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
39 Pa. D. & C.4th 202, 1998 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 119, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/woodland-manor-apartments-v-flowers-pactcompllehigh-1998.