Section 1639

Citation: Section 1639
Parent Document: Tippett v. Daly, 10 A.3d 1123 (2010)
Jurisdiction: DC (municipal)
Effective Date: 2010-12-30
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/2551230/tippett-v-daly/ ↗

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Neither TOPA nor the related regulations define the term "provide ... with." See D.C.Code § 42-3401.03 (2001) (definitions section); 14 DCMR § 4799.1 (1991) (same). Thus, it is appropriate for us to look to dictionary definitions to determine the ordinary meaning of these words. 1618 Twenty-First Street Tenants' Ass'n, 829 A.2d at 203. "Provide" means "to supply for use" and is synonymous with "furnish." WEBSTER'S THIRD NEW INTERNATIONAL DICTIONARY 1827 (2002); see also THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE 1458 (3d ed. 1992) ("[t]o furnish," "supply," or "make available"). In order to "use" the statementto be able to read it and act upon itthe owner must have access to it. Therefore, "to supply [the statement of interest] for use" or to "make [it] available," the tenant must place it in the owner's possession. Depositing the statement in the mail may give rise to an inference that the owner will receive it eventually, see, e.g., Kidd Int'l Home Care, Inc. v. Prince, 917 A.2d 1083, 1087 (D.C.2007) (There is "a rebuttable presumption that a letter properly addressed, stamped, and mailed, and not returned to the sender, has been delivered to the addressee."), but the owner does not have possession of, or access to, the statement while it is in the mail stream. Thus, the "ordinary sense" of the term "provide ... with" is that the tenant must ensure that the statement reaches the landlord within thirty days.[6] 2. The Statutory Context

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