Rookstool-Moden Realty, LLC v. Gallagher

• Court: Oregon Court of Appeals
• Area(s) of Law: Property Law
• Date Filed: 06-10-2020
• Case #: A169071
• Judge(s)/Court Below: Kamins, J. for the court; DeHog, P.J. & Mooney, J.
• Full Text Opinion

“To preserve an argument in a bench trial that the evidence is insufficient as a matter of law, a party is required to move for a judgment of dismissal under ORCP 54 B(2) or make ‘a timely equivalent assertion.’” Marshall v. Cannady, 291 Or App 802, 808, 423 P3d 143 (2018).

Landlord appealed the decision of trial court that found that it “breached the landlord’s duty and resulted in a reduction of the premises’ rental value” and tenant did not owe past due rent. Landlord assigned error to the trial court not having sufficient evidence to support their decision. It argued that if a tenant alleges that a premise is inhabitable, the tenant “is required to present evidence of the extent to which the habitability issue reduced the premises rental value.” The Court held that Landlord did not preserve this issue at trial through either a motion for judgment as a matter of law, nor did it bring forth an argument contesting the lack of evidence. Affirmed.

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