If an eviction lawsuit is served on you, you should carefully read the papers and find your deadline for filing an answer or appearing in court. Call Vermont Legal Aid at 1-800-889-2047.
14. How can I recover my personal property from the leased premises?
Contact the landlord and determine whether the landlord (i) knows anything about the condition of the property, and (ii) has been able to do anything to secure the property. You should be able to get into the property, even if it is uninhabitable, to get your belongings. However, if the property has been condemned and notice barring entry has been posted at the site, special arrangements will have to be made for you to recover your possessions. Contact the number listed on the notice barring entry for assistance. If your landlord is not allowing you to get your belongings even though the property has not been condemned, contact the police and the Disaster Legal Assistance Hotline.
15. May I recover damages against my landlord for injuries or property damage I suffered as a result of the disaster?
When the injury or property damage results from a natural disaster and not from the landlord’s negligence, the landlord is not liable for such injuries or property damage. However, the law does not prevent suits against the landlord for injuries or property damage resulting from the landlord’s negligence. The landlord can therefore be sued if the landlord’s negligence caused or contributed to the tenant’s injuries or damage from the disaster.
16. I have suffered personal injuries or loss or damage to my personal belongings from the disaster. May I recover damages against my landlord or the previous homeowner if they knew about the possibility of flooding and failed to inform me?
If the landlord or seller made an affirmative misrepresentation concerning the possibility of flooding, the tenant or buyer may be able to sue the landlord or seller for fraud to recover for property damages or personal injuries. If you knew, however, that the property could flood or did not rely on the affirmative misrepresentation, then you will not be able to recover damages. If the landlord or seller said nothing about the possibility of flooding, then you will probably not be able to recover any damages. Generally, the mere failure to disclose a fact known by the seller or landlord is not fraud. It is extremely unlikely that a tenant would be able to recover under a Consumer Fraud Claim because of a landlord’s failure to disclose that a property was in a flood hazard area. In limited circumstances, a claim might be had if the landlord actively concealed known past flooding (for example, painting over flood water marks on walls) and falsely represented that the property was not in a flood hazard area. See 37 Am. Jur. 2d, Fraud and Deceit, 144-146.
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