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DRAFT FOR ATTORNEY REVIEW — NOT FINAL

Queen v. Postell, 513 A.2d 812 (1986)

Citation
Queen v. Postell, 513 A.2d 812 (1986)
Parent Document
Queen v. Postell, 513 A.2d 812 (1986)
Jurisdiction
DC (municipal)
Effective Date
1986-08-05

Other Sections in This Document (80)

Full Text

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In the context of the record in the case now before us, even the final submission to the jury of the claim of punitive damages appears questionable in the light of an earlier ruling at the trial. The only paragraph in the complaint charging the defendant with “malice, ill-will” or in “wrongful disregard of plaintiffs’ rights” appears in “Count I — retaliatory eviction,” which was based on the hypotheses that the defective condition of the door was a breach of D.C. Housing Reg. § 2506, 14 D.C.M.R. § 705 (1986), and therefore the tenant’s objection to paying rent until this condition was corrected was protected against such “retaliatory” action as a landlord-tenant suit by D.C.Code § 45-1562 (1981). Before letting the case go to the jury, the court dismissed this count. No appeal from this ruling was taken. If there was no evidence to support the assertion of retaliatory eviction, it is difficult to find anything else in the case to justify any inference of deliberate malice in defendant’s statement or actions.