Andrew Ellis v. John Doe

Summary

The court affirmed the decision allowing a tenant to assert a common-law habitability defense in a landlord's eviction action without first complying with the statutory rent-escrow procedures. It held that the rent-escrow statute created an additional affirmative remedy and did not abrogate the common-law defense or impose a written-notice prerequisite. The court also concluded that requiring written notice would improperly create a procedural barrier to legitimate habitability defenses. Chief Justice Gildea concurred in the result but would have resolved the case solely on the ground that the landlord actually received notice.