Kunst v. Pass, 1998 MT 71 (1998)

Citation: Kunst v. Pass, 1998 MT 71 (1998)
Parent Document: Kunst v. Pass, 1998 MT 71 (1998)
Jurisdiction: Montana (state)
Effective Date: 1998-03-31
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/884766/kunst-v-pass/ ↗

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Act, the next question is whether this breach exposed Defendants to liability
for damages and for attorney's fees. Defendants contend that an award is not
warranted because there is no precedent for a personal injury plaintiff to
receive attorney's fees under the Act. Defendants are incorrect. In Calder v.
Anderson (1996), 275 Mont. 273, 911 P.2d 1157, we addressed the
circumstances under which a landlord could be held liable for personal injuries
caused to a tenant for failing to comply with the Act. We stated that because
"§ -303 of the Act was obviously intended by the legislature to be for the
benefit and safety of tenants, a landlord's failure to comply with the statute is
negligent per se." Calder, 275 Mont. at 278, 911 P.2d at 1160. We also
repeated the well-settled holding that:
     The violation of statutes is negligence as a matter of law when
     the purpose of the statute is to protect a class of persons, the
     plaintiff is a member of that class, and the defendant is a person
     against whom a duty is imposed. The purpose of the statute also
     must be to protect against the kind of injury received by the
     plaintiff.

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