Jacquelyn Lane v. Antonio Barletta

The District Court correctly applied the timelines outlined in District Division Court Rule 5.10 which allows only 7 days for filing post-trial motions. District Division Rule 5.10. This case is a dispute between a landlord and tenant. It was docketed by the District Court the docket number 444-2017-LT-00045, a landlord-tenant case. The case, at the trial court level, originated when Ms. Lane filed an RSA 540-A:4 Petition. Appendix to Appellant’s Opening Brief at 3. The very nature of an RSA 540-A:4 Petition is a dispute between and tenant and landlord needing immediate resolution. District Division Rule 5.10 sets very tight time deadlines which is completely appropriate given the need for immediate resolution to the issues brought in an RSA 540-A:4 Petition. District Division Rule 5.10 The District Court’s Final Order is dated February 22, 2018. Appellant’s Opening Brief at 21. Ms. Lane’s Motion to Reconsider was filed on March 5, 2018. Appendix to Appellant’s Opening Brief at 6 and Oct. 12, 2018 Trn. at 4. The Motion was filed eleven days after the Trial Court’s Final Order, well outside the seven-day deadline. The Tenant did not request late entry for the Motion to Reconsider. Oct. 12, 2018 Trn. at 4. Given all of this, the Trial Court correctly denied the Tenant’s Motion to Reconsider as untimely.

II. A Landlord is Not Required to Provide a Permanent, Installed Heat Source Pursuant to NH RSA 48-A:14. New Hampshire RSA 48-A:14 (XI) states, “The premises do not have heating facilities that are properly installed, safely maintained and in good working condition, or are not capable of safely and adequately heating all habitable rooms, bathrooms and toilet rooms located therein, to a temperature of at least an average of 65 degrees F, or, when the landlord supplies heat in consideration for the rent, the premises are not actually maintained at a minimum average room temperature of 65 degrees F. in all habitable rooms.” RSA 48-A:14 (XI). A plain read of this section of statute indicates that the premises needs a heating system that is properly installed, safely maintained, and in good condition, or are capable of keeping the premises at 65 degrees F (emphasis added). RSA 48-A:14 (XI). The word “or” is a critical piece of language in this RSA. It allows a landlord to provide a heat source, installed or not, that maintains an adequate temperature in the rental unit. Id.

In the instant case, Mr. Barletta asserts that he provided an alternate heating source that could heat the rental unit to 65 degrees F, as contemplated by NH RSA 48-A:14 (XI).

IV. New Hampshire RSA 358-A:2 Cannot and Does Not Apply to this Case.

The Defendant’s assertion that a violation of 540-A:3 can be a violation enumerated in NH RSA 358-A:2 was not preserved for appeal and was not noticed in her cross-appeal. Further, New Hampshire RSA 540-A:4 only contemplates damages calculated pursuant to NH RSA 358-A:10, not RSA 358-A:2. RSA 540-A:4. The plain language of the statute dictates how damages will be calculated. Further, the Petition filed in this case made no mention that the Landlord violated RSA 358-A:2. Appendix to Appellant’s Opening Brief at 3. Therefore, the issue is not properly before this Honorable Court.

For the foregoing reasons, Mr. Barletta respectfully requests that this Honorable Court uphold the Trial Court’s decision that denied the Tenant’s Motion to Reconsider as untimely and reverse the holding of the Trial Court awarding Ms. Lane damages and attorney’s fees.