Willard v. PARSONS HILL PARTNERSHIP, 2005 VT 69 (2005)

Citation: Willard v. PARSONS HILL PARTNERSHIP, 2005 VT 69 (2005)
Parent Document: Willard v. PARSONS HILL PARTNERSHIP, 2005 VT 69 (2005)
Jurisdiction: Vermont (state)
Effective Date: 2005-08-05
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/2081593/willard-v-parsons-hill-partnership/ ↗

Full Text

1,139 chars

Dooley, J.,
¶ 48. dissenting. Plaintiffs in this case seek redress for their landlord’s failure to notify them of chemical contamination, that the landlord knew about, in the water serving their residences. Although plaintiffs alleged a number of claims arising from the landlord’s inaction, they decided to pursue only their warranty-of-habitability claim in the superior court. Obviously sympathetic to plaintiffs’ situation, the majority holds that the Legislature did not intend the Vermont Residential Rental Agreements Act (RRAA), 9 V.S.A., chapter 137, to cover latent defects known to the landlord. Thus, under the majority’s holding, a tenant may sue for breach of the common-law warranty without prior notice to the landlord if the defect is latent, but the tenant must follow the statutory prerequisites to suit for all patent defects. I cannot join in the Court’s decision because the statutory warranty of habitability supplants the common-law warranty and does not distinguish between latent and patent defects, and defendants’ alleged conduct is fully actionable under a common-law tort. Accordingly, I respectfully dissent.

Other Sections in This Document (143)

Full Text