Dover Housing Authority v. Snead, Case Number JP16-09-006676 (Del.Gen.Sess. 1/11/2010), Case Number JP16-09-006676.
| Decision Date | 11 January 2010 |
| Docket Number | Case Number JP16-09-006676. |
| Parties | Dover Housing Authority, Plaintiff, v. Martha Snead, Defendant. |
| Court | Court of General Sessions of Delaware |
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v.
Martha Snead, Defendant.
Michael Rushe, Esq., on behalf of plaintiff.
Martha Snead, pro se.
Dover Housing Authority ("DHA"), landlord, has filed this landlord-tenant action under 25 Del. C. § 5502 and Chapter 57, seeking possession of premises located at 411 S. Queen Street, Apartment 302, Dover, Delaware, for failure to pay rent and late charges in a timely manner. Tenant Martha Snead contests the action, stating DHA failed to provide her notice of a change in DHA policy regarding the point at which DHA would begin eviction process in the Justice of the Peace Court.
The Court convened in a three-judge panel pursuant to 25 Del. C. § 5717 and heard this case de novo. This order represents the court's judgment after trial.
DHA offered evidence that Ms. Snead failed to pay rent for the month of September 2009 in a timely manner, and that it properly notified her of the failure via a 14-day letter. Ms. Snead acknowledged she failed to pay the rent and that she was properly notified of the failure. She defended her failure to pay, stating that she had had personal issues, and further, that the DHA failed to give her proper notice of a change in its policy regarding institution of civil proceedings to evict tenants.
In response to her defense, DHA offered a lease addendum, stating an effective date of January 1, 2009, but signed by the defendant and witnessed on June 10, 2009. This lease addendum states in part, "Two (2) such late payments within a 12-month
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period shall constitute a repeated late payment." The lease itself states that the lease "may be terminated only for serious or repeated violations of material terms of the Lease, such as failure to make payments due under the lease...." (emphasis added). In essence, the DHA has limited its ability to file for possession unless the tenant has repeatedly failed to pay rent in a timely manner, and the addendum defines "repeated" as at least two late rent payments within a 12-month period.
DHA did not provide evidence of any other late payment made by the tenant since she was notified of this change in policy on June 10, 2009, or for that matter, of any other late payment at all.
The standard by which the Court decides whether the plaintiff has carried its burden of proof is by a...
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