Section 45-1561

Citation: Section 45-1561
Parent Document: Habib v. Thurston, 517 A.2d 1 (1986)
Jurisdiction: DC (municipal)
Effective Date: 1986-10-30
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/1995493/habib-v-thurston/ ↗

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In calling this separate proceeding “equitable,” we have focused only on the nature of the protective order as a fair, interim device to protect the interests of both landlord and tenant pending the outcome of the possessory action. See Davis, 456 A.2d at 823-24; Bell, 139 U.S.App.D.C. at 109, 430 F.2d at 482. That characterization does not foreclose a closer look at whether the true nature of a landlord’s claim to the escrowed amount — the “concluding stage” of the proceeding, Smith, 462 A.2d at 1134—has become a money claim for damages entitling the tenant to a trial by jury. “The Seventh Amendment question depends on the nature of the issue to be tried rather than the character of the overall action.” Ross v. Bernhard, 396 U.S. 531, 538, 90 S.Ct. 733, 738, 24 L.Ed.2d 729 (1970) (footnote and citation omitted). “ ‘The court is not bound by the form of the action but rather by the nature of the rights involved and the facts of the particular case — the gist of the action. A jury trial must be granted where the gist of the action is legal, where the action is in reality cognizable at law.’ ” Carithers v. District of Columbia, 326 A.2d 798, 800 (D.C.1974) (quoting People v. One 1941 Chevrolet Coupe, 37 Cal.2d 283, 299, 231 P.2d 832, 843-44 (1951) (per curiam)); cf. Dameron v. Capitol House Associates Limited Partnership, 431 A.2d 580, 584 (D.C.1981) (dicta) (tenants not entitled to McNeal hearing on imposition of protective order, permitting monthly release of portion of deposited funds to landlord; such evidentiary hearing “[a]t this early stage in the proceedings,” effecting permanent disposition of property, “would preempt the controversy and might deny a party’s constitutional right to a trial by jury”).

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