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DRAFT FOR ATTORNEY REVIEW — NOT FINAL

Favreau v. Miller, 591 A.2d 68 (1991)

Citation
Favreau v. Miller, 591 A.2d 68 (1991)
Parent Document
Favreau v. Miller, 591 A.2d 68 (1991)
Jurisdiction
Vermont (state)
Effective Date
1991-03-29

Other Sections in This Document (106)

Full Text

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The parties agree that the trial court properly rejected the "possession and control" doctrine and that its more expansive theory of landlord liability was in general correct. Plaintiff, however, insists that the court did not go far enough, and should have told the jury that the landlord's liability may also be predicated on a breach of the warranty of habitability. This Court has recognized an implied warranty of habitability in residential leases, permitting recovery of contract remedies when the premises are substandard. Hilder v. St. Peter, 144 Vt. 150, 159-64, 478 A.2d 202, 208-11 (1984); see also 9 V.S.A. §§ 4457-4459 (statutory warranty of habitability). The question before us is whether the doctrine enunciated in Hilder and provided now by statute may be invoked to recover damages for personal injury on the rental property, that is, to recover under a contract theory for what traditionally has been encompassed under tort theory.