Ayers v. Landow, 666 A.2d 51 (1995)

Citation: Ayers v. Landow, 666 A.2d 51 (1995)
Parent Document: Ayers v. Landow, 666 A.2d 51 (1995)
Jurisdiction: DC (municipal)
Effective Date: 1995-10-02
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/2381535/ayers-v-landow/ ↗

Full Text

2,005 chars

At the very least, actual notice is one indication that the notice given was "reasonably calculated, under all the circumstances, to apprise interested parties of the pendency of the action." Greene, supra, 456 U.S. at 449-50, 102 S.Ct. at 1877-78 (emphasis omitted). I recognize that actual notice may not overcome service that clearly fails to comply with any interpretation of the notice statute. See Moody, supra, 321 A.2d 562, 563 (holding that notice was insufficient because it was slid under the tenant's door instead of being posted, regardless of the fact that the tenant actually received the notice). However, where no prejudice is alleged by the tenant from the method of service the case here and the method of service can be accommodated by the language of the statute, consistent with case law and the statute's legislative history, the court should not invalidate an otherwise adequate notice to quit. Ontell, supra, 527 A.2d at 1295 (holding that notice to an English-speaking commercial tenant was sufficient even though it was written only in English and not also in Spanish as § 45-1406 requires); compare Jones v. Brawner Co., 435 A.2d 54, 56 (D.C.1981) (holding that because "[t]he requirement of strict compliance with the statute obviates some of the practical difficulties of proving delivery," notice to quit served by slipping under door was insufficient despite actual receipt of notice). This court suggested in Gantt that the question whether a particular form of notice was legally proper can be answered with reference to whether the server's interpretation of the notice statute at issue undermined an ascertainable statutory scheme. Gantt, supra, 558 A.2d at 1123-25. In the instant case, the landlord's service by mailing seven days before the first posting cannot be said to undermine any scheme intended by the legislature. Ontell, supra, 527 A.2d at 1295. Thus, I would interpret § 45-1406 as allowing mailing up to, but not later than, three days after posting.

Other Sections in This Document (158)

Full Text