Reference no: EM133194413 , Length: 2 pages

THE CASE:

Ten years ago, Kim built a large open-air theater which served as an outdoor entertainment venue. On weekdays, Kim would rent the venue to the local comedy clubs. On weekend evenings, Kim would host major music concerts. Since Covid, the demand for outdoor venues increased and business was booming- with concerts almost nightly. The theater employs about 200 people and has been a focus of the city's cultural scene. When built, its location was near the edge of the city. As time went by, city development expanded to include housing in the vicinity of the theater. Kim purchased some nearby buildings as an investment and operated them as residential rental apartments, even providing a 10% rental discount to theatre employees. Kim set aside a certain number of units for theatre employees, and to qualify for an employee unit, employees had to sign a lease stating they would not allow anyone under the age of 18 to live in the unit or to stay in the unit for more than 2 consecutive nights. Kim also put this term into leases for non-employee residents, and it was rarely questioned by prospective tenants because many were college students who were not considering living with kids anytime soon. Kim said this was for safety reasons because the area around the theatre was a nightlife hotspot with lots of partying and late-night events and was not a safe place for young children to live.

Pete is a new theatre employee who recently moved into one of Kim's units on the 4th floor. Pete moved into the unit with his girlfriend, Jess, who also worked at the theatre. After six months, Jess got pregnant. When Kim found out, she told Pete and Jess that the lease prohibited occupants under 18 and that they would need to move before the baby was born.

At the same time, on their few nights off, Pete and Jess suffered sleepless nights due to the noise and vibration coming from the theater during the nightly rock concerts. They could feel the floor shake and could not have a normal conversation because of the loud noise. Pete later learned that all the neighbors, especially the residents of the building that were not theatre employees, complained to Kim about the noise and vibration, and Kim said she would do something to minimize the noise, but never followed through.

Pete and Jess decided to live with the noise while they looked for new housing. The apartment building was having other issues, too. Because the doors to the building were frequently malfunctioning and not automatically closing, nearby partiers and other troublemakers sometimes wandered into the building lobby. One of these partiers repeatedly pulled the Fire Alarm which would automatically turn off the elevator service. The elevator's electrical system started malfunctioning from the frequent service interruptions and Kim got tired of fixing it. At one point, the elevator was not operating for 35 days and Jess had to walk up 4 flights of stairs. Neighbors repeatedly complained to Kim, who said there was no point in fixing the elevator if someone was just going to pull the Fire Alarm and trigger the malfunction again. One day, at 8.5 months pregnant, Kim missed a step and slipped, injuring her back. The baby was not injured in any way, but her injury forced doctors to perform a c-section to deliver the baby.

With housing costs rising, Pete and Jess were unable to find affordable housing that met their needs and was close enough to work. A few weeks after the baby was born, Pete and Jess received a letter from Kim stating that the lease was terminated and provided 15 days' notice to vacate the unit. When talking to the neighbors, Pete and Jess heard about another resident, Paula, who was also pregnant. Paula did not work for the theatre. She was renting a standard unit yet still received a letter from Kim telling her she needed to move out before her baby was born pursuant to the lease.

Question 1. What claims may Pete and Jess reasonably assert against Kim and what remedies may they reasonably seek? Discuss.

Question 2. What claims may the other residents of Kim's building reasonably assert against Kim and what remedies may they reasonably seek? Discuss.