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Know your rights! A Claim for Breach of Contract or Restitution Can Survive a Court Ordered Eviction

This past May the Fourth District Court of Appeal was presented with a case where a commercial tenant was properly evicted by a landlord but still could validly claim that the landlord breached a lease agreement in doing so. (Munoz v. MacMillan DJDAR 6902, filed May 13, 2011) The landlord brought an unlawful detainer action against the tenant. The landlord won at the trial court level and obtained a valid writ of possession (order to evict) and did evict the tenant. The tenant appealed the underlying judgment and won.

The tenant then brought an action for breach of contract against the landlord. The landlord defended against the claim by asserting that: "Plaintiff has no valid claim or cause of action as there was no impermissible eviction of Plaintiff and no breach of contract as Plaintiff’s tenancy terminated pursuant to a valid court order and as Defendant at all times proceeded lawfully to court judgment."

In other words, the landlord argued that since the eviction was lawful and did not amount to self-help that the tenant was precluded from holding landlord liable for the eviction. Current law provides: "A landlord evicting a tenant pursuant to a writ of possession cannot be held liable 'for damages under the principles governing actions for forcible entry and detainer,' even if the writ of possession is subsequently deemed invalid because there was no judgment in the unlawful detainer action granting landlord a right to possession".

However, the Fourth District held that even though the tenant could not hold the landlord liable for a wrongful eviction claim, the tenant could still validly allege that the eviction was a breach of contract/lease, the Appellate Court further held that the tenant could also seek recovery under the doctrine of restitution.

The lesson to be learned is that a judgment in an unlawful detainer action is not necessarily the end of the matter. If you are a landlord evicting a tenant you should inform yourself of your rights and liabilities so that you are not surprised with a later lawsuit following the eviction of a tenant. Conversely, if you are a tenant you may have more rights than you think; even if you believe an eviction was proper.

Bustarde Law can consult with you regarding your lease and applicable law and inform you of your rights.

The landlord did not engage in improper self-help and evicted the tenant under a properly issued writ of possession (order to evict).