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INTERNAL PROTOTYPE — NOT LEGAL ADVICE — DO NOT SEND

Section 535

Citation
Section 535
Parent Document
Property Exchange & Sales, Inc. v. King, 863 S.W.2d 12 (1993)
Jurisdiction
Missouri (state)
Effective Date
1993-10-12

Full Text

1,108 chars
PESI argues its claims are ancillary and unrelated to the defendants’ alleged wrongful failure to return the deposit. We disagree. In Count I for fraud, PESI alleged that the defendants made certain fraudulent representations concerning the deposit. In Count II for unlawful practices, PESI alleged similar facts and that the defendants refused to refund a portion of the deposit unless PESI signed a release. Count IV was based on a theory of breach of contract and alleged similar facts as in Count II. In Count V, PESI alleged a theory of prima facie tort based on the defendants’ alleged failure to return the deposit unless PESI signed the release. In all counts, PESI prayed for in part, the return of the $520 security deposit. These four counts are neither ancillary nor unrelated to the security deposit as they all have as their common nucleus of operative fact the defendants’ alleged wrongful failure to return the deposit. The statute provides tenants with their exclusive remedy when a landlord wrongfully withholds a security deposit. Battis v. Hofmann, 832 S.W.2d 937, 940 (Mo.App.W.D. 1992).