Stoiber v. Honeychuck, 101 Cal. App. 3d 903 (1980)

Citation: Stoiber v. Honeychuck, 101 Cal. App. 3d 903 (1980)
Parent Document: Stoiber v. Honeychuck, 101 Cal. App. 3d 903 (1980)
Jurisdiction: California (state)
Effective Date: 1980-02-05
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/2134128/stoiber-v-honeychuck/ ↗

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Although Hinson, Green and Quevedo do not address the question whether a tenant may maintain a tort action against his landlord for damages suffered by way of annoyance or discomfort or for injury to *917his personal property caused by the landlord’s failure to keep the premises in a habitable condition, we believe that under the expansive rationale of Rowland v. Christian (1968) 69 Cal.2d 108 [70 Cal.Rptr. 97, 443 P.2d 561, 32 A.L.R.3d 496], the question must be answered in the affirmative. In Rowland, the Supreme Court repudiated the traditional trespasser-licensee-invitee classification of duties of an owner or possessor of land, and substituted in place of these rigid classifications the basic rule of foreseeability of injury to others. The holding was based on Civil Code section 1714 which provides: “Everyone is responsible, not only for the result of his willful acts, but also for an injury occasioned to another by his want of ordinary care or skill in the management of his property or person, except so far as the latter has, willfully or by want of ordinary care, brought the injury upon himself. The extent of liability in such cases is defined by the Title on Compensatory Relief.” (Civ. Code, § 1714, subd. (a).) Emphasizing the broad language of the code section, the Rowland court stated: “Although it is true that some exceptions have been made to the general principle that a person is liable for injuries caused by his failure to exercise reasonable care in the circumstances, it is clear that in the absence of statutory provision declaring an exception to the fundamental principle enunciated by section 1714..., no such exception should be made unless clearly supported by public policy.” (69 Cal.2d at p. 112; see also 3 Witkin, Summary of Cal. Law (8th ed. 1978 supp.) § 453A, pp. 132-133.)

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