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Edwards v. Habib

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Edwards v. Habib
CourtUnited States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
Full case nameYvonne C. Edwards v. Nathan Habib
ArguedJanuary 22, 1968
DecidedMay 17, 1968
Citation397 F.2d 687
Case history
Subsequent historyPetition for rehearing en banc denied, July 11, 1968
Court membership
Judges sittingJohn A. Danaher, James Skelly Wright, Carl E. McGowan
Case opinions
MajorityWright, joined by McGowan (Part III only)
ConcurrenceMcGowan
DissentDanaher

In United States landlord-tenant law, Edwards v. Habib, 397 F.2d 687 (D.C. Cir. 1968),[1] was a case decided by the D.C. Circuit that includes the first recognition of retaliatory eviction as a defense to eviction.

Factual background

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Plaintiff Edwards rented property from defendant Habib on a month-to-month basis. Habib failed to address sanitary code violations brought up by Edwards, so Edwards reported Habib to the Department of Licenses and the Inspection Department. An inspection revealed 40 sanitary code violations, and Habib was ordered to rectify the violations. After the inspection, Habib obtained a default judgment against Edwards in a statutory eviction action.

Holding

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The court held that a tenant cannot be evicted for reporting sanitary code violations, and this became known as the defense of retaliatory eviction.[2]

References

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  1. ^ Edwards v. Habib, 397 F.2d 687 (D.C. Cir. 1968).
  2. ^ Casner, A.J. et al. Cases and Text on Property, Fifth Edition. Aspen Publishers, New York, NY: 2004. P. 150
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