Citing The Wrong Floor Results In A Defective Notice To Quit

Judge Weise in Hartford Housing Session held that a notice to quit was defective when it named the right street, right room number, but wrong floor. Lim v. Dasilva (Doc. No. HDSP-144141 (Weise J.). The defendant resided in room number six on the third floor and the notice to quit described the premises as room number six on the second floor.

A defective notice to quit deprives the court of jurisdiction over the case and results in the dismissal of the action. In my opinion, Judge Weise reached the correct legal result in Lim.

This case illustrates just how technical Connecticut landlord/tenant law is. Of course, the landlord maybe able to start another eviction against the tenant but doing so has cost the landlord both time and money.

Simply changing the word “second” to “third” in describing the premises would have given the court subject matter jurisdiction over the eviction action.

Ryan McKeen is a trial attorney at Connecticut Trial Firm, LLC in Glastonbury, Connecticut. In 2016, he was honored by the CT Personal Injury Hall of Fame for securing one of the highest settlements in the state. He is a New Leader in the Law. ABA 100. Avvo 10. 40 under 40 for Hartford Business Journal. He has been quoted in Time Magazine, the New York Times, Hartford Courant, Wall Street Journal Law Blog and the Hartford Business Journal. He focuses his practice on Connecticut Personal Injury law. He loves what he does. Contact him ryan@cttrialfirm.com or 860 471 8333

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