Worden v. Ordway

672 P.2d 1049, 105 Idaho 719, 1983 Ida. LEXIS 523
CourtIdaho Supreme Court
DecidedOctober 24, 1983
Docket14579
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 672 P.2d 1049 (Worden v. Ordway) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Idaho Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Worden v. Ordway, 672 P.2d 1049, 105 Idaho 719, 1983 Ida. LEXIS 523 (Idaho 1983).

Opinions

BAKES, Justice.

This is an appeal from the dismissal of Counts 1 and 3 of plaintiff’s complaint. The dismissal was granted at the end of the trial, but prior to submission of the balance of the issues raised by plaintiff’s complaint to the jury, which returned a verdict against plaintiff. Viewing the evidence most favorably to the appellant on those two dismissed counts, as we must, Pigg v. Brockman, 85 Idaho 492, 381 P.2d 286 (1963), the evidence before the trial court is reasonably susceptible to the following interpretation.

Appellant moved to Lewiston from Oregon in March, 1977. After failing to find a suitable dwelling for herself and her three children, she rented a unit at the Green Gables Motel from respondent. After one night, appellant and respondent agreed that appellant would rent the unit on a monthly basis for $120 per month. The unit consisted of one room, with a kitchenette and bathroom. However, because the heating unit in this room did not work properly, appellant soon moved to a larger unit, renting for $160 per month. The larger unit consisted of a living room, bedroom, kitchenette and bath. Shortly after moving into the larger unit, the kitchen sink failed to drain properly. Appellant allegedly notified respondent of this problem, but he failed to fix it. Later, the plumbing in the bathroom failed. Appellant testified that when the toilet was flushed, it would back up into the shower. Also, when someone was in the shower, it would not drain and thus would constantly overflow. This condition resulted in a continually damp, smelly and musty atmosphere in the apartment. These conditions were never repaired, even though respondent was allegedly given oral notice of the defects.

In November of 1977, the hot water in appellant’s apartment failed completely. She had no hot water at all until approximately four months later, in February, 1978, when, due to repairs made by appellant’s boyfriend, partial hot water capacity was restored. The hot water capacity was never fully restored before appellant vacated the premises. Appellant notified respondent of this problem, and he allegedly promised to fix it. In the meantime, appellant and her three children walked across the parking lot to another unit to use the shower.

During her tenancy, appellant was also bothered by the presence of rats, mice, and roaches (woodbores, as appellant referred to them).

At the end of April, 1978, appellant apparently began to vacate the premises. She had previously withheld rent payments for March and April in an attempt to force respondent to make repairs. While appellant was in the process of moving out (but apparently before appellant had the chance to remove all of her belongings), respondent locked up the premises and refused to allow appellant to remove the remainder of her belongings.

[721]*721On May 3,1978, appellant’s counsel sent a letter to respondent, giving him the three day notice required under I.C. § 6-320. Appellant then filed suit on May 17, 1978. Appellant alleged several causes of action against respondent, including (1) breach of an implied warranty of habitability, (2) intentional infliction of emotional distress, (3) violation of I.C. § 6-320, (4) violation of the Uniform Housing Code, (5) negligence per se, (6) constructive eviction, (7) breach of the covenant of quiet enjoyment, (8) nuisance, and (9) return of property held by respondent after the supposed lockout. Respondent counterclaimed for the balance of the rent claimed due and for damages, asserting that plaintiff’s living habits caused the damage to the plumbing, which in turn overflowed and damaged respondent’s property.

A jury trial was held before a magistrate. However, before submitting the case to the jury, the magistrate removed from the jury’s consideration the causes of action numbered (1) and (3) above. The jury then returned a verdict awarding no damages to either side. The major issues appellant raises on appeal are whether the magistrate erred in directing verdicts on causes (1) and (3). The magistrate, on Count 1, ruled that Idaho has not yet recognized the implied warranty of habitability, and he did not “choose ... to plow a new ground in this particular case.” On Count 3, the magistrate ruled that appellant had not sufficiently complied with the notice requirement under the statute in that the appellant had already partially vacated the apartment when the notice was given. Since the statute itself requires the notice as a prerequisite to standing, the magistrate felt that a person who had terminated the tenancy should not be able to maintain standing to sue for damages under the act; thus, verdicts were directed under Counts 1 and 3. Appellant appealed to the district court, and the district court issued an order affirming, without opinion, the decision of the magistrate. On appeal, appellant asks that we overturn the magistrate’s decision granting a directed verdict. We will first consider the directed verdict on Count 3.

I

The trial court’s action in removing Count 3 from the jury’s consideration, although termed a motion to dismiss, was essentially a directed verdict. Blackburn v. Boise School Bus Co., 95 Idaho 323, 508 P.2d 553 (1973); Bauscher Grain v. National Surety Corp., 92 Idaho 229, 440 P.2d 349 (1968); Van Vranken v. Fence-Craft, 91 Idaho 742, 430 P.2d 488 (1967). A motion for directed verdict admits the truth of the adversary’s evidence and every inference of fact which may legitimately be drawn therefrom. Smith v. Big Lost River Irr. Dist., 83 Idaho 374, 364 P.2d 146 (1961). Moreover, the evidence must be considered in a light most favorable to the party against whom the motion has been made. Pigg v. Brockman, 85 Idaho 492, 381 P.2d 286 (1963). A trial court should direct a verdict only if, as a matter of law, the plaintiff would not recover under any reasonable view of the facts. Smith v. Big Lost River Irr. Dist., supra.

I.C. § 6-320, upon which Count 3 is based, is a statutory version of the implied warranty of habitability. Under that section, a landlord can be liable for damages for failure to keep the premises in good repair, or for any other breach of the lease or rental agreement which materially affects the health and safety of the tenant. To maintain an action on this section, the tenant must show that the landlord failed to do one of five things.

(1) Failure to provide waterproofing and weather protection.
(2) Failure to maintain in good working order electrical, plumbing, heating, ventilating, cooling or sanitary facilities.
(3) Maintaining the premises in a manner hazardous to the health or safety of the tenant.
(4) Failure to return a security deposit as and when required by law.
(5) Breach of any term or provision of the lease or rental agreement materi[722]*722ally affecting the health and safety of the tenant.

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Worden v. Ordway
672 P.2d 1049 (Idaho Supreme Court, 1983)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
672 P.2d 1049, 105 Idaho 719, 1983 Ida. LEXIS 523, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/worden-v-ordway-idaho-1983.