Lockout Notice Wasn’t Defamatory Attack on Tenant’s Reputation

What Happened: Upon arriving at his office, a tenant who was behind in his rent discovered that the landlord had changed the locks and left a paper notice taped to the inside glass door facing out. Its basic message: We’ve changed your lock. But we’re not terminating your lease, and you’re still obligated to pay rent. Contact the managing agent at XYZ address to get the key to the new lock.

After paying the rent and moving back in, the tenant sued the landlord for defamation, claiming that the lockout notice injured his reputation with clients and employees, exposed him to “public hatred, contempt, ridicule, or financial injury,” and impeached “his honesty, integrity, or virtue.” The court found the tenant’s defamation claim legally invalid and granted summary judgment to the landlord. The tenant appealed.

Ruling: The Texas appeals court rejected the tenant’s appeal.

Reasoning: The lockout notice wasn’t defamation because:

• It didn’t list the tenant’s name;
• It didn’t state that he had committed any illegal or unethical conduct; and
• It indicated that the lease was still in effect.

In short, the notice didn’t say anything other than what’s “reasonably expected” in a lockout notice that a landlord is legally entitled to provide. If such notices were read as an attack against a tenant’s personal reputation, it would mean that landlords would expose themselves to potential defamation liability just by exercising their lease rights in posting appropriate notice, the court concluded.

• Chehab v. Edgewood Dev., Ltd.: 2021 Tex. App. LEXIS 1324, 2021 WL 729287