Trial Needed to Resolve Tenant’s Broken HVAC Constructive Eviction Claim

June 26, 2023

What Happened: With the HVAC system on the fritz, the heat inside the office building became so intense that a tenant’s employee passed out and had to be sent to a hospital, resulting in an OSHA heat stress complaint. At least that’s what the tenant argued. The landlord contended that it was working on the HVAC and that the tenant was exaggerating how stifling the heat was as an excuse for not paying rent.

Ruling: The New Hampshire federal court denied the landlord’s motion for summary judgment.

What Happened: With the HVAC system on the fritz, the heat inside the office building became so intense that a tenant’s employee passed out and had to be sent to a hospital, resulting in an OSHA heat stress complaint. At least that’s what the tenant argued. The landlord contended that it was working on the HVAC and that the tenant was exaggerating how stifling the heat was as an excuse for not paying rent.

Ruling: The New Hampshire federal court denied the landlord’s motion for summary judgment.

Reasoning: If the tenant’s account was true, it would have a valid constructive eviction defense; if its account was untrue, the landlord would have a valid claim for unpaid rent. The problem, said the court, was that there wasn’t sufficient evidence at this point to determine what actually happened. Specifically, it was unclear just how hot it was inside the office, what was wrong with the AC, whether the landlord was responding effectively to the problem, etc. And without the necessary clarity on the facts, summary judgment was inappropriate and the case had to go to trial, concluded the court.

  • ZJBV Props., LLC v. Mammoth Tech., Inc., 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 99654, 2023 DNH 071, 2023 WL 3892384 

Topics

More like this