Mary Cocchiarella v. Donald Driggs, 884 N.W.2d 621 (2016)

Citation: Mary Cocchiarella v. Donald Driggs, 884 N.W.2d 621 (2016)
Parent Document: Mary Cocchiarella v. Donald Driggs, 884 N.W.2d 621 (2016)
Jurisdiction: Minnesota (state)
Effective Date: 2016-08-31
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/4252990/mary-cocchiarella-v-donald-driggs/ ↗

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Moreover, the common law meaning of the phrase “is occupying” in the context of the landlord-tenant relationship supports this interpretation; The creation of the landlord-tenant relationship involves the transfer of possession and occupation of the leased premises. At common law, a landlord-tenant relationship can be created orally, and requires only that the right to present possession of the premises be transferred from the landlord to the tenant. Restatement (Second) of Prop.: Landlord and Tenant §§ 1.2, 2.1 (Am. Law Inst.1977); see Gates v. Herberger, 202 Minn. 610, 612, 279 N.W. 711, 712 (1938) (noting that “[a]ny words that show an intention of the lessor to divest himself of the possession, and confer it upon another, but.in subordination of his own title, is sufficient” to create a tenancy (emphasis added)); State v. Bowman, 202 Minn. 44, 46, 279 N.W. 214, 215 (1938) (noting that a “tenant is one who, holds or possesses lands or tenements by any kind of right or title”); see also Fisher v. Heller, 174 Minn. 233, 236, 219 N.W. 79, 80 (1928) (indicating that' a tenancy was created solely from the payment and acceptance of monthly rent); Thompson v. Baxter, 107 Minn. 122, 123-25, 119 N.W. 797, 797-98 (1909) (noting that a tenancy can be created, either by a lease agreement or by implication of Taw). Consequently, the right of possession is transferred when the lease agreement gives the tenant control over the property and the power to exclude all others.3 Re*627statement (Second) of Prop.: Landlord and Tenant § 1.2 (Am. Law Inst.1977); see also Goodwin v. Clover, 91 Minn. 438, 439-40, 98 N.W. 322, 323 (1904) (describing the tenant’s right as the “right to occupy” and the “superior right to the possession of the land”).

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