Skip to main content
INTERNAL PROTOTYPE — NOT LEGAL ADVICE — DO NOT SEND

Visco v. Cody, 16 Conn. App. 444 (1988)

Citation
Visco v. Cody, 16 Conn. App. 444 (1988)
Parent Document
Visco v. Cody, 16 Conn. App. 444 (1988)
Jurisdiction
Connecticut (state)
Effective Date
1988-09-27

Full Text

2,295 chars
If we were to adopt the defendants’ argument, we would have to acknowledge a greater duty to make repairs as set forth in § 47a-20 than that which is specified in § 47a-7 (a). The latter obliges a landlord to maintain his leased premises in a fit and habitable condition; the former, under the defendants’ construction, would also oblige the landlord to make any cosmetic or aesthetic repairs, solely at the tenant’s good faith behest. This is not to say that a tenant does not have the right to request aesthetic repairs; rather, the tenant cannot avoid eviction, using § 47a-20 as a shield, on the grounds that he requested such repairs in good faith. Any other result would effectively prevent a landlord from recovering possession of his property based on a possible defect in the leased premises which he had no statutory duty to repair, and would, therefore, be anomalous indeed. We must not look at the single word “repairs” in isolation, to the exclusion of the remainder of that provision or to the exclusion of interrelated legislation. “What appears to be clear statutory language should not be read to arrive at an ‘ambiguous or unreasonable result’ or to ‘defeat a legislative intent which becomes evident when the statute is read in the light of its history and purpose.’ State v. Delafose, [185 *452Conn. 517, 522, 441 A.2d 158 (1981)]. Statutes should be considered as a whole, reconciling their separate parts so that a reasonable overall interpretation is achieved..Dukes v. Durante, [supra, 214]. Furthermore, the meaning of a particular phrase in a statute is to be determined by reference to the use of that phrase in other parts of the same statute. Doe v. Institute of Living, Inc., 175 Conn. 49, 57, 392 A.2d 491 (1978); Sutherland, Statutory Construction (4th Ed. Sands) § 46.05. A meaning should not be ascribed to it which would render the meaning of those other uses difficult or bizarre; State v. Campell, 180 Conn. 557, 563, 429 A.2d 960 (1980); Connecticut Natural Gas Corporation v. DPUC, 1 Conn. App. 1, 4, 467 A.2d 679 (1983); and it must be construed with common sense. State v. Privitera, 1 Conn. App. 709, 721, 476 A.2d 605 (1984).” Shelby Mutual Ins. Co. v. Della Ghelfa, 3 Conn. App. 432, 438, 489 A.2d 398 (1985), aff d, 200 Conn. 630, 513 A.2d 52 (1986).