The weather began to turn cold, Luke turned off the heat and hot water to the apartment because Trudy did not pay her rent on October 1. Trudy insisted that Luke owed her for the two weeks in September that she was unable to live in the apartment. During her investigation of the lack of hot water, Trudy noticed that the roof leaked. She did not inform Luke about the leak. In order to take a hot shower every day, Trudy had to pay for a $25 per month gym membership.
On November 15, Trudy moved out of the apartment without ever having paid the October or November rents because she had become "disgusted" with the lack of heat and hot water. She immediately informed Luke of her reasons.
Luke did not take any action until December 1. On December 1 Luke inspected the apartment and discovered the roof leak. From November 15 to December 1, there had been substantial rains and the leak caused considerable damage to the apartment. Luke fixed the leak and hot water and put a one-line ad on the Internet looking for a tenant. The ad cost Luke $100, and the repairs cost $1,200. No one rented the apartment until February 1.
In a 3 page paper, complete the following:
- State in detail the statutory rights and obligations of Luke the Landlord and Trudy the Tenant.
- For purposes of this hypothetical problem, assume that Trudy's new job and residence are in your home state. Use the Landlord Tenant Act in your state to support your position.
- Analyze the respective rights of Luke the Landlord and Trudy the Tenant and, where applicable, state the majorityand minority views of any applicable rule. Determine whether your state uses the majority or minority rule.
- Determine the total amount of expenses incurred by the tenant due to issues with the apartment and how much rent the tenant owes the landlord, after expenses, for the amount of time she resided in the apartment.
Tips for Completing your Assignment
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Please spend adequate time reading and re-reading the hypothetical question and outlining each response before writing and submitting your final draft of the written assignment.
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Read the hypothetical question very carefully and consider the various legal issues applicable to each of the parties: Trudy, Luke and Horace.
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Each answer is to immediately follow the question.
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Make sure you answer the questions that I have actually asked. Do not answer questions that I did not ask.
Some potential efficiency techniques:
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Re-state the entire hypothetical question. Answer the hypothetical directly following the fact pattern.
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Bullet points, short citation forms, and unambiguous abbreviations are OK; however, complete, grammatically correct sentences are required
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Please quote statutes or cases only if they are necessary to make your point.
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If any additional information not provided in a hypothetical question would be useful in your analysis, indicate what information would be helpful, why it would help, and then state your assumptions in order to proceed with your analysis.
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While generally your answers should be based on legal principles, feel free to address other perspectives and concerns as you think are appropriate.
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While there is no word requirement, it is anticipated that to fully answer the hypothetical you will need approximatelythree pages. Aim for answers that are clear and succinct.
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You are encouraged to think your way through each ethical dilemma using the rules as tools to assist you, however, this means focusing on the ethical dilemma before turning to the applicable rules.