Court reviews an unlawful detainer action involving counterclaims of unlawful foreclosure practices

FEDERAL HOME LOAN MORTGAGE CORPORATION v. ALAN WILSEY AND SANDRA WILSEY (Tenn. Ct. App. May 21, 2012

This appeal involves an unlawful detainer action. After foreclosure, the defendants refused to leave the subject property. The plaintiff filed this unlawful detainer action against the defendants, and ultimately filed a motion for summary judgment. In response, the defendants, acting pro se, filed documents suggesting fraud and/or unlawful foreclosure practices. The defendants filed no evidence to support their claims and no other response to the plaintiff’s motion. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the plaintiff. The defendants now appeal. Discerning no error, we affirm the trial court’s decision.

Opinion available at:
https://www.tba.org/sites/default/files/federalhomeloan_052112.pdf

Court determines the rightful owner of real property following the death of one of the tenants

RICHARD RHODEN v. DONALD D. RHODEN (Tenn. Ct. App. September 29, 2011)

This is an action for unlawful detainer. The property at issue was deeded to the plaintiff and his father "as tenants in common with the right of survivorship." For a time, the father, the plaintiff, and the plaintiff's brother all lived together on the property. The father died intestate. After the father's death, the plaintiff asked his brother to leave the property, and the brother refused. The plaintiff then filed this action against his brother for unlawful detainer, claiming that he was the sole owner of the property after their father's death based on his right of survivorship. After a bench trial, the trial court agreed and held in favor of the plaintiff. The brother now appeals. We affirm.

Opinion available at:
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2011/rhodenr_092911.pdf

Court reviews whether a landlord had a duty under a commercial lease to repair a tenant's leaky roof

C.F. PROPERTY, LLC v. RACHEL SCOTT ET AL. (Tenn. Ct. App. September 27, 2011)

This is a landlord-tenant dispute involving commercial property with a known and disclosed "leaky roof." The lease states that the "property" is leased "as is where is." In an email sent prior to the execution of the lease, the landlord stated it would "talk about" repairing the roof after the first year. The leakage increased dramatically after the first year. The tenant began withholding rent.

The landlord filed an unlawful detainer action and the tenant filed a counterclaim for damages resulting from the leaky roof. A bench trial ensured. The court held that, by telling the tenant it would "talk about" repairing the roof, the landlord misrepresented that the roof was repairable when the landlord knew it could not be repaired, and that the landlord had a duty under the lease to repair the roof. The landlord appeals. We reverse the judgment and remand for a determination of the damages due the landlord under the lease.

Opinion available at:
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2011/CFProperty_092711.pdf