De La Vara v. Municipal Court

After the municipal court sustained general demurrer by Minoru Hori to the unlawful detainer complaint of Anthony and Connie De La Vara, the De La Varas petitioned the superior court for a writ of mandate compelling the municipal court to vacate the order and overrule the demurrer. Hori appeals from judgment granting the petition.

Hori frames the sole issue on appeal: “May a landlord state a cause of action in unlawful detainer for non-payment of rent without first alleging his performance of all conditions precedent required of him, including fulfillment of his implied warranty of habitability?”

Thus, with the exception of Hori’s claim that the complaint fails to state a cause of action because of plaintiffs’ failure to allege fulfillment of the landlord’s implied warranty of habitability, it is conceded in the posture of the case before us, that the allegations of the complaint are sufficient in all respects, For the reasons hereinafter stated, we conclude that such implied warranty of habitability is not a matter which plaintiffs landlords are compelled to plead in order to state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action for unlawful detainer and…