Bernstein v. Fernandez, 649 A.2d 1064 (1991)

Citation: Bernstein v. Fernandez, 649 A.2d 1064 (1991)
Parent Document: Bernstein v. Fernandez, 649 A.2d 1064 (1991)
Jurisdiction: DC (municipal)
Effective Date: 1991-03-28
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/2103411/bernstein-v-fernandez/ ↗

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Relying on Cooks v. Fowler, 147 U.S.App.D.C. 213, 455 F.2d 1281 (1971), H & M contends that the court erred in failing to reduce the damages by one-third of the rent, the apartment’s “shell value.” Cooks does not support this contention. In that case the *1072court had to determine the amount of a security deposit which it had previously required to be paid monthly as a condition for the granting of a stay. Devising a formula “in an effort to meet fairly and expeditiously the exigencies of this particular, case,” id. at 215, 455 F.2d at 1283, the court settled on a figure of one-third of the rent as a “rough” but “reasonable,” though “not wholly satisfactory,” approximation of the value of the apartment as “shelter in the narrowest sense_” Id. at 214-215, 455 F.2d at 1282-1283. The court came up with this formula because it had earlier rejected the tenant’s assertion that the apartment was worth nothing, but neither the tenant nor the landlord had presented any evidence of what the “as is” rental value was.

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