Section 504B

Citation: Section 504B
Parent Document: Cent. Hous. Assocs., LP v. Olson, 929 N.W.2d 398 (2019)
Jurisdiction: Minnesota (state)
Effective Date: 2019-06-12
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/8288834/cent-hous-assocs-lp-v-olson/ ↗

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The first canon we apply is under Minn. Stat. § 645.16(6) : when a statute is ambiguous, we consider the consequences of an interpretation. Interpreting section 504B.441 to protect a residential tenant only after a complaint commencing a lawsuit has been filed would allow a landlord to retaliate against a tenant for taking the very steps the Legislature requires to file a tenant-remedies action. Specifically, section 504B.395 provides that a complaint must include "a statement that a request for inspection was made to the appropriate state, county, or municipal department, that demand was made on the landlord to correct the alleged code violation, and that a reasonable period of time has elapsed since the demand or request was made." Minn. Stat. § 504B.395, subd. 6(b)(2). If we interpreted "complaint of a violation" to mean only the commencement of a lawsuit, the Legislature would have given a landlord the legal right to retaliate against a residential tenant during the period of time after which a tenant requests an inspection but before "a reasonable period of time has elapsed." Id. We doubt that the Legislature sought to prohibit retaliation against a tenant for filing a lawsuit but to allow retaliation against a tenant for taking the steps necessary to file that same lawsuit.

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