Mary Cocchiarella v. Donald Driggs, 884 N.W.2d 621 (2016)

Citation: Mary Cocchiarella v. Donald Driggs, 884 N.W.2d 621 (2016)
Parent Document: Mary Cocchiarella v. Donald Driggs, 884 N.W.2d 621 (2016)
Jurisdiction: Minnesota (state)
Effective Date: 2016-08-31
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/4252990/mary-cocchiarella-v-donald-driggs/ ↗

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I disagree with the court that the word “occupying” is a technical word subject to a variety of meanings depending on context because it has one reasonable plain meaning. As the other courts involved in this case have concluded, the common and ordinary meaning of “occupying” refers to actual, physical possession or residence, not merely a legal right to possession. This is shown by definitions from numerous, common dictionaries. E.g., Webster’s Third New International Dictionary Unabridged (3d ed.2002) (defining “occupy” as “to take up residence in:, settle in”; “to fill up (a place or extent) ... <the center of the house was occupied by a magnificent mahogany staircase>”; and “to hold possession of < occupied a ridge from which they dominated the crossroads >”); Mer-rianv-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (11th ed.2009) (defining “occupy” as “to take up (a place or extent in space) <this chair is occupied > <the fireplace will [occupy] this corner of the room>”); The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (5th ed.2011) (defining “oc*630cupy” as “[t]o fill up” and “[t]o dwell or reside in (an apartment, for example)”); Oxford American Dictionary (3d ed.2010) (defining “occupy” as to “reside or have one’s place of business in (a building)”; and to “fill or take up (a space or time): two long windows occupied almost the whole of the end wall ”). Applying these definitions, the word “occupying” in section 504B.001, subdivision 12, plainly requires a “residential tenant” to have physical possession of the leased premises.2

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