I was in Court this morning, representing a tenant on a motion to dismiss. Our claim was that the landlord's Notice to Quit was defective in several ways, thereby necessitating dismissal of the summary process. One error was that the tenant's name was incorrect. Landlord's counsel conceded that the name was incorrect, but asked to cure the defect, rather than a dismissal. Fortunately for my client, but unfortunately for landlords is the only way to cure a defective Notice to Quit is to start all over again. The summary process was dismissed.
What is to be learned from this? First, if you are the landlord, make sure you have your i's dotted and t's crossed when you serve a notice to quit. In this case, at least in my opinion, there were numerous problems with the Notice to Quit and the summary process. But really, you only need the judge to agree with the tenant on one of the defects and the case will be dismissed. Second, if a legitimate defect is brought to your attention by the tenant, then dismiss the case. We waited in Court for more than two hours to be heard today because of the Court's schedule. During that time, clients missed work and attorneys accrued time. Third, if you are a tenant and are served with a Notice to Quit, take a good look at it. Is it procedurally correct? Was it served properly? Some types of leases, particularly Section 8 leases require that the landlord give additional notices. If those prerequisites were not followed, it the Notice may be invalid.
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