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DRAFT FOR ATTORNEY REVIEW — NOT FINAL

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

Other Sections in This Document (143)

Full Text

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¶ 30. Finally, we are unpersuaded by the trial court's view, shared by the dissent, that the tort remedies potentially available to the tenants for any personal injuries suffered before they learned that the water was contaminated are a sufficient substitute for their common-law warranty-of-habitability action. The warranty of habitability is an implied part of every residential lease contract, 9 V.S.A. § 4457; Hilder, 144 Vt. at 159-61, 478 A.2d at 208-09, and actions for its breach sound in contract, id. As with any breach-of-contract action, a tenant prevails by showing he received less than he bargained for because of a defendant's breach. In residential lease contracts, a plaintiff's damages are calculated by determining the difference in value between the agreed-upon rent for his unit in habitable condition, and the value of the same unit with habitability defects. Favreau, 156 Vt. at 229, 591 A.2d at 73.