Ruiz v. Pelson Realty Trust, 13 Mass. L. Rptr. 346 (2001)

Citation: Ruiz v. Pelson Realty Trust, 13 Mass. L. Rptr. 346 (2001)
Parent Document: Ruiz v. Pelson Realty Trust, 13 Mass. L. Rptr. 346 (2001)
Jurisdiction: Massachusetts (state)
Effective Date: 2001-05-13
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/8354352/ruiz-v-pelson-realty-trust/ ↗

Full Text

980 chars

There is no definitive appellate court decision in Massachusetts concerning whether a lawful visitor to residential premises can maintain a claim under the implied warranty of habitability. The question was left undecided in the seminal case of Boston Housing Authority v. Hemingway, 363 Mass. 184 (1973). It is an issue that has divided this court. Plaintiff finds support for her claim in the general shift and evolution of the law with regard to landlord liability. Beginning with Boston Housing Authority v. Hemingway, the Supreme Judicial Court found that social changes in landlord-tenant relations and legislative changes in landlord obligations and tenant remedies were inconsistent with medieval notions of the lease as a conveyance of property. Hemingway, 363 Mass. 184 (1973). Rather, the court recast its theory of the landlord-tenant relationship into essentially a contractual model, disposing of the caveat emptor theory of property conveyance by lease. Id. at 198.

Other Sections in This Document (27)

Full Text