Fields Corner Granite Ltd. v. Johnson

No. 95 SP 736 (Mass. Hous. Ct. Suffolk County Mar. 20, 1995) ; Clearinghouse Number: 50778

Description

Tenant in Jail Was Not in Material Noncompliance with Lease Requiring Her to Live in Apartment

Abstract

The court has denied plaintiff landlord’s motion for summary process in this eviction action. After defendant tenant was incarcerated, landlord tried to evict her for material noncompliance with the lease. Under one of the lease’s provisions, tenant had agreed “to live in the apartment and to use the apartment as [her] only place of residence.” Landlord claimed that tenant was no longer residing in the apartment since she was in jail. The court held that tenant was not in material noncompliance with the lease even though she was not living in or using the apartment. Construing the word “residence” to mean “domicile,” the court held that tenant still resided in her apartment and had taken no steps to establish a new domicile at the House of Corrections. The court noted that tenant had lived in the apartment complex for over 11 years and that her incarceration was of a short-term nature.

Additional Information

Attorney Information
Defendant represented by David Jackson, Inmate Legal Services, 20 Bradston St., Boston, MA 02118, (617) 625-1000.
Docket Date
1995-03-20 00:00:00+00:00