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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

1,109 chars
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.