Adams v. Woodlands of Nashua

The defendant, Woodlands of Nashua, appeals from a ruling of the Nashua District Court {Ryan, J.) awarding the plaintiff, Mansfield Adams, Jr., $26,000 in liquidated damages, see RSA 540-A:4, IX (1997) (amended 2003), for willfully violating the plaintiffs right to quiet enjoyment of his tenancy. We reverse.

The record reflects the following facts. The plaintiff, who has two young children, has lived in a twenty-four unit building in the defendant’s apartment complex since November 2002. Prior to that, a roach problem had existed at the property, and the defendant had hired a professional pest…