Rider v. Carranza

"We ascertain the legislature’s intentions by examining the text of the statute in its context, along with any relevant legislative history, and, if necessary, canons of construction.” State v. Cloutier, 351 Or 68, 75, 261 P3d 1234 (2011) (citing State v. Gaines, 346 Or 160, 171-73, 206 P3d 1042 (2009)).

Carranza appealed a trial court’s application ORS 90.427, specifically concerned with “limit[ing] rent increases and prohibits no-cause evictions for tenants who have lived in their homes for at least a year.” On appeal, Carranza assigned error to the courts decision that "SB 608 does not apply to a 60-day no-cause notice of termination of a month-to-month tenancy issued on February 25, 2019 that terminated a tenancy on April 26, 2019.” "We ascertain the legislature’s intentions by examining the text of the statute in its context, along with any relevant legislative history, and, if necessary, canons of construction.” State v. Cloutier, 351 Or 68, 75, 261 P3d 1234 (2011) (citing State v. Gaines, 346 Or 160, 171-73, 206 P3d 1042 (2009)). The Court agreed with Carranza, reasoning that the plain terms of amendments to ORS 90.427 that effectively eliminated no-cause evictions in month-to-month tenancy agreements after one year of residency apply to “’[t]erminations of month-to-month tenancies occurring on or after’ March 30, 2019.” The Court further noted that the legislature’s use of plain terms shows its intent for ORS 90.427 amendments to “apply based on the date that the termination occurs.” Where Rider’s notice terminated a tenancy after March 30, 2019 and omitted a “valid cause or reason for eviction” it did not fulfill requirements laid out in ORS 90.427(3)(c) because legislature expressly intended the amendments to be in effect and applied to “[t]erminations of month-to-month tenancies occurring on or after the 30th day after the effective date of this 2019 Act.” Oregon Laws 2019, chapter 1, sections 11 and 12. Reversed and remanded.