• NY Apartment Law
  • Fair & Affordable Housing
  • Commercial Lease Law
  • Guidebooks
  • Archives
  • Main Articles
  • Departments
  • eAlerts
  • Blogs
  • Log In
  • Log Out
  • My Account
  • Subscribe
  • NY Apartment Law
  • New York Apartment Law Insider
  • New York Landlord V. Tenant
  • Co-Op & Condo Case Law Digest
  • New York Rent Regulation Checklist, Fourth Edition
  • 2025 New York City Apartment Management Checklist
  • Fair & Affordable Housing
  • Fair Housing Coach
  • Assisted Housing Management Insider
  • Tax Credit Housing Management Insider
  • Fair Housing Boot Camp. Basic Training For New Hires
  • Commercial Lease Law
  • Commercial Lease Law Insider
  • Best Commercial Lease Clauses, 17/e
  • Best Commercial Lease Clauses: Tenant's Edition
  • Best Commercial Lease Clauses, 17/e
  • Best Commercial Lease Clauses, 17/e
  • Main Articles
  • Features
  • Certification
  • Compliance
  • Crime & Security
  • Dealing with Households
  • Income Calculations
  • Maintenance
  • Screening Applicants
  • Departments
  • Dos and Don'ts
  • Q and A
  • Recent Court Rulings
  • HUD Audits
  • In the News
  • Ask the Insider
  • Ask the Insider
  • Send Us A Question
May 28, 2025
We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
The Habitat Group Logo
  • NY Apartment Law
    • New York Apartment Law Insider
    • New York Landlord V. Tenant
    • Co-Op & Condo Case Law Digest
    • New York Rent Regulation Checklist, Fourth Edition
    • 2025 New York City Apartment Management Checklist
  • Fair & Affordable Housing
    • Fair Housing Coach
    • Assisted Housing Management Insider
    • Tax Credit Housing Management Insider
    • Fair Housing Boot Camp. Basic Training For New Hires
  • Commercial Lease Law
    • Commercial Lease Law Insider
    • Best Commercial Lease Clauses, 17/e
      • Best Commercial Lease Clauses, 17/e
    • Best Commercial Lease Clauses: Tenant's Edition
  • Guidebooks
  • May 28, 2025
  • Log In
  • Log Out
  • My Account
  • Subscribe
  • May 28, 2025
AHMI Logo.webp
  • Archives
  • Main Articles
    • Features
    • Certification
    • Compliance
    • Crime & Security
    • Dealing with Households
    • Income Calculations
    • Maintenance
    • Screening Applicants
  • Departments
    • Dos and Don'ts
    • Q and A
    • Recent Court Rulings
    • HUD Audits
    • In the News
    • Ask the Insider
      • Send Us A Question
  • eAlerts
  • Blogs
Free Issue
The Habitat Group Logo
May 28, 2025
  • Log In
  • Log Out
  • My Account
Home » Resident Met $15,000 Threshold Needed for a Jury Trial

Resident Met $15,000 Threshold Needed for a Jury Trial

Oct 11, 2015

Facts: A resident rented a unit at a federally subsidized site for a number of years. In March 2013, the owner notified the resident that, because of numerous lease violations, it was terminating her lease effective April 12, 2013, and directed her to vacate the unit by that date.

The owner’s termination letter claimed that: (1) the unit was damaged by a fire when the stovetop was left on and unattended; (2) the resident hadn’t reimbursed the owner the $3,847.30 for that fire damage; (3) children “occupying” her unit “were lighting matches and allowing them to burn holes in the staircase to the common area”; (4) upon inspection of her unit, the owner discovered “broken blinds, broken door knobs, missing sprinkler covers, and buckling walls”; (5) other site residents had “submitted regular complaints of noise and heavy traffic of non-residents coming from” her unit; (6) “security and police have visited the property on reports of illegal activity, including use of marijuana”; (7) an “altercation involving a knife and a baton” occurred in her unit that “led to significant injury” to some of her guests and that one or more of them had been “sent to the hospital for bleeding from the head and abdomen”; and (8) on one occasion, there were “loud, verbal arguments” between her guests.

When the resident didn’t vacate, the owner filed a breach-of-lease action seeking repossession of the unit. The resident, in turn, demanded a jury trial, claiming that the amount in controversy exceeded $15,000, the threshold sum for such a proceeding. The owner then filed a motion to strike the resident’s jury demand, contending that the amount in controversy was, in fact, less than $15,000 and that, therefore, the district court had exclusive jurisdiction over the matter. The circuit court agreed and struck the resident’s demand for a jury trial. The resident appealed this decision.

Ruling: A Maryland appeals court ruled for the resident and reversed the circuit’s court decision.

Reasoning: The resident reasoned that, because her lease, by its express terms, automatically renews for successive one-year terms unless terminated for good cause, she has a right to possess the unit for an “indefinite period of time” and, thus, the value of her right to possess the premises should have been calculated by multiplying the annual fair market rental payment by the number of years of her remaining estimated life expectancy, the product of which exceeds $15,000.

The court agreed and rejected the approach advocated by the owner, which valued the resident’s right to possess the unit, not by multiplying her annual rent by her estimated life expectancy, but by multiplying her monthly rental payment by the number of months that remained on her current lease, which was due to expire on Dec. 31, 2013 (approximately nine months after the owner notified the resident that it was terminating the lease).

  • Kirk v. Hilltop Apartments, September 2015
Recent Court Rulings
    • Related Articles

      Owner Must Provide Information Needed to Process Resident's Section 8 Application

      PHA Not Responsible for Resident's Fall on Black Ice

      Resident Didn't Harbor a Fugitive

    Popular Stories

    • How to Handle Income Changes from the Social Security Fairness Act

      Apr 11, 2025
      Feature
      By Eric Yoo
    • HUD Delays Implementation of HOME Final Rule Amid Regulatory Freeze

      Feb 14, 2025
      Feature
      By Eric Yoo
    • Publications
      • Assisted Housing Management Insider
      • Commercial Lease Law Insider
      • Co-op & Condo Case Law Tracker Digest
      • Fair Housing Coach
      • New York Apartment Law Insider
      • New York Landlord v. Tenant
      • Tax Credit Housing Management Insider
    • Additional Links
      • Contact Us
      • Advertise
      • Group Subscriptions
      • Privacy Policy
    • Boards of Advisors
      • Assisted Housing Management Insider
      • Commercial Lease Law Insider
      • Fair Housing Coach
      • New York Apartment Law Insider
      • Tax Credit Housing Management Insider
    ©2025. All Rights Reserved. Content: The Habitat Group. CMS, Hosting & Web Development: ePublishing
    The Habitat Group Logo
    • NY Apartment Law
      • New York Apartment Law Insider
      • New York Landlord V. Tenant
      • Co-Op & Condo Case Law Digest
      • New York Rent Regulation Checklist, Fourth Edition
      • 2025 New York City Apartment Management Checklist
    • Fair & Affordable Housing
      • Fair Housing Coach
      • Assisted Housing Management Insider
      • Tax Credit Housing Management Insider
      • Fair Housing Boot Camp. Basic Training For New Hires
    • Commercial Lease Law
      • Commercial Lease Law Insider
      • Best Commercial Lease Clauses, 17/e
        • Best Commercial Lease Clauses, 17/e
      • Best Commercial Lease Clauses: Tenant's Edition
    • Guidebooks
    • May 28, 2025
    • Log In
    • Log Out
    • My Account
    • Subscribe
    • May 28, 2025
    AHMI Logo.webp
    • Archives
    • Main Articles
      • Features
      • Certification
      • Compliance
      • Crime & Security
      • Dealing with Households
      • Income Calculations
      • Maintenance
      • Screening Applicants
    • Departments
      • Dos and Don'ts
      • Q and A
      • Recent Court Rulings
      • HUD Audits
      • In the News
      • Ask the Insider
        • Send Us A Question
    • eAlerts
    • Blogs
    Free Issue
    The Habitat Group Logo
    May 28, 2025
    • Log In
    • Log Out
    • My Account