Castillo-Cullather v. Pollack

• Decision Date: 08 September 1997
• Docket Number: CASTILLO-CULLATHE,A,No. 53A01-9703-CV-98,53A01-9703-CV-98
• Citation: 685 N.E.2d 478
• Parties: Melanieppellant-Plaintiff, v. Michael POLLACK, Abodes Management/Construction, Appellees-Defendants.
• Court: Indiana Appellate Court

Page 478

685 N.E.2d 478

Melanie CASTILLO-CULLATHER, Appellant-Plaintiff, v. Michael POLLACK, Abodes Management/Construction, Appellees-Defendants.

No. 53A01-9703-CV-98.

Court of Appeals of Indiana.

Sept. 8, 1997.

John M. Irvine, Student Legal Services, Bloomington, for Appellant-Plaintiff.

Rebecca T. Clendening, Bingham Summers Welsh & Spilman, Bloomington, for Appellees-Defendants.

OPINION

BAKER, Judge.

Appellant-plaintiff Melanie Castillo-Cullather appeals the trial court's judgment in favor of appellees-defendant Michael Pollack and Abodes Management/Construction (Abodes), Castillo-Cullather's landlord, on her claim seeking the return of her security deposit. Castillo-Cullather presents several issues for our review, which we consolidate and restate as follows: (1) whether Abodes was permitted to deduct carpet cleaning, painting and general cleaning costs from her security deposit under Indiana's Security Deposit statute; ¹ (2) whether the amount of the painting deduction was proper; (3) whether Abodes sufficiently justified and itemized the general cleaning deduction; and (3) whether the trial court erred by not awarding her attorney's fees.

FACTS

On April 14, 1993, Castillo-Cullather and her husband, Nick, entered into an agreement to lease a new apartment from Abodes beginning on August 1, 1993, and ending on August 13, 1994. ² The lease was secured by a $450 deposit. Pursuant to the terms of the rental agreement, the deposit would be returned at the expiration of the lease if the premises were "not damaged beyond normal wear." Record at 175. Additionally, the lease required Castillo-Cullather to steam-clean the carpets before vacating the premises and to clean various appliances and other items in the apartment. Further, any cleaning required to return the premises to good condition and any painting required to return the walls to an "as new" condition would be charged to Castillo-Cullather.

On August 12, 1994, Castillo-Cullather, her husband and Liz Hennessey, Abodes' property manager, conducted a joint "move-out" inspection. During this inspection, Hennessey noted that several appliances and other areas in the apartment needed cleaning, that the carpets had not been steam-cleaned and that several walls needed painting. She did indicate, however, that the premises were in "good condition" and that there were no damages to the apartment.

Near the end of the inspection, Nick Cullather asked Hennessey whether Abodes would return the entire security deposit. When Hennessey informed him that they would be charged for the cleaning and painting which still needed to be completed as a matter of company policy, the Cullathers protested, stating that the walls and carpet were in good condition and did not need further cleaning. As a result, Hennessey contacted Jeff Kleiner, Abodes' construction and maintenance manager, who inspected the premises and noted on the inspection form that the "walls are scuffed, splat in kitchen, scruffy throughout." R. at 179.

Thereafter, on September 12, 1994, Abodes provided Castillo-Cullather with an itemized list of charges which were deducted from her security deposit and a check for $190.55, representing the balance of the deposit. According to the notice sent to Castillo-Cullather, Abodes had deducted $140 for painting, $65 for carpet cleaning, $26 for general cleaning, $25 for a washer and dryer charge and $3.45 for turning on the electricity to clean the apartment, for total deductions of $259.45.

In November of 1994, Castillo-Cullather filed a complaint against Abodes for the return of the remainder of her security deposit. Prior to the trial on the complaint, Castillo-Cullather filed a motion requesting the trial court to shift the burden of proof to Abodes to show that the deductions from the deposit were for damages exceeding normal wear and tear, which the trial court denied. Following a bench trial on September 24, 1996, the court entered findings of fact and conclusions of law, determining that Abodes properly deducted the majority of charges from Cullather's security deposit. However, the trial court concluded that Abodes overcharged Cullather by $10 for the carpet cleaning and improperly deducted the cost of turning on the electricity to the apartment. As a result, the court entered judgment in favor of Cullather for $13.45. The court then denied Cullather's request for attorney's fees on the grounds that she had only received a minimal award, which was primarily the result of a clerical error. This appeal followed.

DISCUSSION AND DECISION

I. Standard of Review

Initially, we note our standard of review. When a party has requested specific findings of fact pursuant to Ind.Trial Rule 52(A), as here, we cannot affirm the judgment on any legal basis. Vanderburgh County Bd. of Comm'rs v. Rittenhouse, 575 N.E.2d 663, 665 (Ind.Ct.App.1991), trans. denied. Instead, we must determine whether the evidence supports the findings and whether the findings support the judgment. Id. The judgment will be reversed only when clearly erroneous, i.e., when the judgment is unsupported by the findings of fact and conclusions entered on the findings. DeHaan v. DeHaan, 572 N.E.2d 1315, 1320 (Ind.Ct.App.1991), trans. denied. A finding of fact is clearly erroneous when there is no evidence or inferences drawn therefrom which support it. In the Matter of M.B., 666 N.E.2d 73, 76 (Ind.Ct.App.1996), trans. denied. In determining whether the findings or judgment are clearly erroneous, we do not reweigh the evidence or reassess the credibility of the witnesses; rather, we consider only the evidence favorable to the judgment and all reasonable inferences flowing therefrom. DeHaan, 572 N.E.2d at 1320.

II. Security Deposit Statute

Castillo-Cullather first contends that the trial court erroneously concluded that Abodes' deductions for carpet cleaning, painting, and general cleaning were lawful under Indiana's Security Deposit statute. Specifically, she contends that there was no evidence that Abodes' deductions from her security deposit were for damages that were not the result of ordinary wear and tear and therefore, the deductions were prohibited by section 13 of the Security Deposit statute. ³ In a related argument, Castillo-Cullather contends that the trial court erred by denying her request to shift the burden of production and persuasion to Abodes to show that its deductions were not for ordinary wear and tear.

IND.CODE. § 32-7-5-12(a) summarizes the conditions under which a landlord may retain a tenant's security deposit and provides, in pertinent part, as follows:

(a) Upon termination of a rental agreement, all of the security deposit held by the landlord shall be returned to the tenant, except for any amount applied to:

(1) the payment of accrued rent;

(2) the amount of damages that the landlord has or will reasonably suffer by reason of the tenant's noncompliance with law or the rental agreement; and

(3) unpaid utility or sewer charges that the tenant is obligated to pay under the rental agreement;

all as itemized by the landlord in a written notice delivered to the tenant together with the amount due within forty-five (45) days after termination of the rental agreement and delivery of possession....

If the landlord fails to comply with these requirements, the tenant may recover the amount of security deposit due the tenant and reasonable attorney's fees. I.C. § 32-7-5-12(b).

Here, Castillo-Cullather's rental agreement specifically required her to keep the premises clean, steam-clean the carpet upon vacating the apartment and remove all scuffs and other marks from the walls to restore them to their prior condition. The rental agreement further provided that any cleaning that was necessary to return the premises to a "good condition" or painting that was required to remove scuff marks from the walls would be charged to her. As Castillo-Cullather concedes, she failed to steam-clean the carpet upon the expiration of the lease. Furthermore, the record reveals, and Castillo-Cullather does not dispute, that there were scuffs and other marks on the walls of the apartment at the end of her tenancy and that the move-out inspection form indicated that several areas within the apartment needed further cleaning. As we explained in Miller v. Geels, 643 N.E.2d 922, 927 n. 9 (Ind.Ct.App.1994), trans. denied, "Where the tenants fail to meet their obligation under the lease agreement to clean the rental unit, the landlord must incur the expense of doing so and is thereby damaged." Based on this evidence and the fact that Abodes sent written notice and the balance of the security deposit to Castillo-Cullather within forty-five days after the lease terminated, Abodes properly deducted the cleaning and painting charges from the security deposit, pursuant to section 12(a), as damages resulting from the tenant's noncompliance with the rental agreement.

Nevertheless, Castillo-Cullather contends that section 13(1) of the Security Deposit statute prohibits a landlord from using a tenant's deposit merely because of her noncompliance with a rental agreement. Under section 13(1), "[a] security deposit may be only used ... [t]o reimburse the landlord for actual damages to the rental unit ... that are not the result of ordinary wear and tear expected in the normal course of habitation of a dwelling." I.C. § 32-7-5-13(1). According to Castillo-Cullather, this language prohibits Abodes from using her security deposit, pursuant to I.C. § 32-7-5-12(a)(2), to enforce the cleaning and painting provisions of the rental agreement unless it proves that any damage to the carpet and the walls exceeded the ordinary wear and tear expected as a result of the normal use of the apartment. We disagree.

When construing a statute, we attempt to reconcile all of its provisions, even those apparently in conflict with one another. Hilburt v. Town of Markleville, 649 N.E.2d 1036, 1040 (Ind.Ct.App.1995), trans. denied....