Sherryland, Inc. v. Snuffer, 150 N.H. 262 (2003)
- Citation
- Sherryland, Inc. v. Snuffer, 150 N.H. 262 (2003)
- Parent Document
- Sherryland, Inc. v. Snuffer, 150 N.H. 262 (2003)
- Jurisdiction
- New Hampshire (state)
- Effective Date
- 2003-11-21
Other Sections in This Document (27)
- Sherryland, Inc. v. Snuffer, 150 N.H. 262 (2003)
- Sherryland, Inc. v. Snuffer, 150 N.H. 262 (2003)
- Sherryland, Inc. v. Snuffer, 150 N.H. 262 (2003)
- Sherryland, Inc. v. Snuffer, 150 N.H. 262 (2003)
- Sherryland, Inc. v. Snuffer, 150 N.H. 262 (2003)
- Sherryland, Inc. v. Snuffer, 150 N.H. 262 (2003)
- Sherryland, Inc. v. Snuffer, 150 N.H. 262 (2003)
- Sherryland, Inc. v. Snuffer, 150 N.H. 262 (2003)
- Sherryland, Inc. v. Snuffer, 150 N.H. 262 (2003)
- Sherryland, Inc. v. Snuffer, 150 N.H. 262 (2003)
- Sherryland, Inc. v. Snuffer, 150 N.H. 262 (2003)
- Sherryland, Inc. v. Snuffer, 150 N.H. 262 (2003)
- Sherryland, Inc. v. Snuffer, 150 N.H. 262 (2003)
- Sherryland, Inc. v. Snuffer, 150 N.H. 262 (2003)
- Sherryland, Inc. v. Snuffer, 150 N.H. 262 (2003)
- Sherryland, Inc. v. Snuffer, 150 N.H. 262 (2003)
- Sherryland, Inc. v. Snuffer, 150 N.H. 262 (2003)
- Sherryland, Inc. v. Snuffer, 150 N.H. 262 (2003)
- Sherryland, Inc. v. Snuffer, 150 N.H. 262 (2003)
- Sherryland, Inc. v. Snuffer, 150 N.H. 262 (2003)
- Sherryland, Inc. v. Snuffer, 150 N.H. 262 (2003)
- Sherryland, Inc. v. Snuffer, 150 N.H. 262 (2003)
- Sherryland, Inc. v. Snuffer, 150 N.H. 262 (2003)
- Sherryland, Inc. v. Snuffer, 150 N.H. 262 (2003)
- Sherryland, Inc. v. Snuffer, 150 N.H. 262 (2003)
- Sherryland, Inc. v. Snuffer, 150 N.H. 262 (2003)
- Sherryland, Inc. v. Snuffer, 150 N.H. 262 (2003)
Full Text
1,523 charsRSA 540:13-a (1997) allows a tenant to defend an eviction action upon proof that an eviction was sought in retaliation for “reporting in good faith what the tenant reasonably believe[d] to be ... an unreasonable and substantial violation of a regulation or housing code to the landlord or any board, agency or authority ... as to the reasonable fitness of... property for health or safety.” RSA 540:14, II provides that whenever the tenant successfully raises the defense of retaliation, “damages of not more than 3 months’ rent may be awarded.” (Emphasis added.) The statute does not require a tenant to plead or prove damages, but rather authorizes an award of damages against a landlord when an eviction action is sought in retaliation for a specified complaint. See Carter v. Lachance, 146 N.H. 11, 14 (2001). In Carter, we ruled that a statutory minimum award was not based upon actual damages suffered, but was a penalty imposed upon landlords who violated RSA 540-A:3 (Supp. 2002), which prohibits certain acts by landlords. Id. Thus, recovery did not require any evidence of damages, but only a finding that the landlord did, in fact, violate the statute. Id. Similarly, once the prerequisite of retaliation is satisfied, RSA 540:14, II allows the trial court to impose a penalty on landlords without requiring any proof of damages by the defendant. In this case, the trial court found retaliation. Accordingly, it was permitted to award the defendant $894.00 in damages, exactly three times her monthly rental fee.