Ore. High Court Decides Tenants Not Bound to Statutory Remedies

PORTLAND, Ore. - The Oregon Supreme Court has reversed lower court decisions barring tenants' common law negligence claims over mold and other issues, ruling that the state's Residential Landlord Tenant Act does not provide the sole remedy for such disputes. Waldner, et al. v. Stephens, Nos. CC 03C21165, CA A127595, SC S055351 (Ore. Sup. Ct.

The court said in its Dec. 31 en banc opinion that in enacting the ORLTA, the legislature "did not intend to sweep into that category all actions, including common-law actions, that merely bear some nexus to the relationship between landlords and tenants under a …