Greenwood Housing Association v Alpha - Essay Example

ENGLISH LEGAL METHOD Question What were the material facts in the case? Answer The materials facts in this case of Greenwood Housing Association v Alpha (2006) could　be divided into two categories: ＊Legal definitions: The major arguments made by the Lord Justices try to define, in the　strict　relevance to the Laws, what constitutes the real meaning of “repair” and “maintenance”. Does　it signify that when a landlord undergoes a “repair” of his tenant’s house, is he carrying out a　complete “maintenance” as stipulated in the Laws? Description of responsibility: To what extent is the landlord responsible for repair or　maintenance of his tenant’s property? In case the landlord is unaware of the state of disrepair in　tenant’s house, and an injury occurs, should the landlord be held responsible for the mishap? This　case also raises the important issue of determining how much repair or maintenance the Laws　expected of the landlord. And it investigates when exactly should a landlord act to repair a damaged　part of the tenant’s house. Question 2: What are (were) the legal issue(s ) in this case? Answer 2: Several legal issues are reflected in the extract of the case of Greenwood Housing　Association v Alpha as the argument for appeal progressed. Some of these legal issues are　highlighted ad follows: Avon v Bristol CC (1993): this legal case argues in support of landlord being held responsible　for the injury caused by a defect garden. The tenant is worthy receiving damages for the injury since　landlord shy away from his statutory duty to repair the defect garden before accident could occur. Proudfoot v Hart (1890) Q.B.D. 42: this legal issue agrees that it is the landlord’s statutory duty to carry out all repairs, as indicated the Tenancy agreement. This explains why all manners of activities that are meant to maintain the property and make the place safe must be pursued by the landlord without any delay or default. Lee v Leeds CC (2003): This case details that the landlord is solely responsible for any injury caused by defects arising from design faults. In this issue, moulds and condensation emerged in the tenant’s property as a result of house design errors. Credit Suisse v Beegas Nominees Ltd., (1994) 4: This legal issue strongly supports that tenant is not expected to be held liable for any injury that occurs in a rented property: in other words, the landlord should fully undertake his responsibility of repairing and maintenance as reflected in the Tenancy Agreement. Question 3: Which technique(s) of statutory interpretation do you consider that Laws LJ employed in the case? Give reasons for your answers. Answer 3: In the case of Greenwood Housing Association v Alpha (2006), the technique of statutory interpretation used by Laws LJ is described as Deconstruction and Critical Legal Studies. The explanations for this indicates that Laws LJ attempts to deconstruct the real definition of the ordinary language of “repair” and “maintenance” as expected of a landlord in the Laws. And also, what kind of landlord is the section of the Laws required the act of “repair”, and in what forms should they take? Also, several critical legal studies were employed to discover some level of relevance to those cases that had happened on the same issue. The significance of this is to determine if the principle of precedent could be applied in the case. Characteristics of Deconstruction and Critical Legal Studies Technique These are the facts for recognizing the technique of Deconstruction and Critical Legal Studies. (i) Unreliability of definition: For a case to be successfully argued, its language must be meaningfully explained. In other words, its definition must be clear and not ambiguous. However, the Lord Justices struggle with finding another meanings for two simple words: “repair” and “maintenance” by deconstructing their original simple meanings. (ii) Legal comparison: Citing many related legal issues or cases is a characteristic of Critical Legal Studies. The essence of this is to draw up a related conclusion as the final judgment is sought for the case at hand. For instance, all the cited cases are about the relationships between tenants and landlords, about the contents of tenancy agreements, and the request/payment of damages. Question 4: Why did the court of Appeal not follow the decision in Avon v Bristol CC (1993)? Your answer should include an explanation of relevant principle of precedent. Answer 4: The principle of precedent that is applicable here could be termed as Persuasive Precedent: Judges sometimes find themselves in a corner that they have to choose between giving an expected, non-chaotic judgment or refuse to follow similar judgment passed on similar issue and giving an entirely new judgment on the case. In Greenwood Housing Association v Alpha (2006), the decision to permit the appeal based on different though similar premise, but the court could not ascertain if Greenwood Housing ultimately have a knowledge of the disrepair of the tenant’s property. On the other hand, it was proved in the other case that the landlord was aware that the defect garden needed some repairs. Therefore, the judge could not use the legal outcome of the related court case to determine the result for Greenwood Housing Association v Alpha (2006). Question 5: Explain, in your own words, the ratio dicedendi of Greenwood Housing Association v Alpha (2006). Answer 5: The ratio dicedendi of Greenwood Housing Association v Alpha (2006) lies on two important reasons: (a) Ambiguous definitions: It was difficult for the Lord Justices to conclude on what exactly are the definitions of “repair” and “maintenance”, with which the case would appear ambiguous. What does it mean to repair or maintain a tenant’s property? And what are the necessary activities to be carried out, and to what extent? (b) Applicability: And if the issue of definitions has been resolved, what categories of Landlords could the definitions be applicable to? Ordinary landlords or Housing Association or Estate firms? And to what level would they be responsible for any injury that occurred on an unrepaired tenant’s property? These two facts lead to the Judge’s decision to allow the Appeal to go on! REFERENCE Greenwood Housing Association v Alpha (2006) Read More