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DRAFT FOR ATTORNEY REVIEW — NOT FINAL

Gokey v. Bessette, 580 A.2d 488 (1990)

Citation
Gokey v. Bessette, 580 A.2d 488 (1990)
Parent Document
Gokey v. Bessette, 580 A.2d 488 (1990)
Jurisdiction
Vermont (state)
Effective Date
1990-07-13

Full Text

874 chars
144 Vt. at 159, 478 A.2d at 208. There was ample evidence to support the trial court’s conclusion that the eviction action and the closure of access to the barn — which constituted “changing terms of a rental agreement” within the meaning of 9 V.S.A. § 4465(a)— were retaliatory. If plaintiff simply wished to recover the rent he believed due him, and which defendants had withheld after June 1,1986, he could have limited his action to that claim. It is not the purpose of § 4465 to bar a landlord from bringing a good-faith action to recover unpaid rent. Plaintiff, however, having failed to provide habitable premises and having conceded that significant corrective action was eventually required, should not be surprised that the court would construe as retaliatory his attempt to oust his tenants after four months of contention over the condition of the premises. III.