Idaho Law Blog

Landlord-Tenant Law and Reasonable Modifications

Published on: November 28, 2016 | by Racine Olson

Not all tenants, or potential tenants, are healthy. Many have physical disabilities or handicaps that limit their mobility or ability to function normally. Discriminating against a tenant or potential tenant because of a disability is prohibited by both state and federal law. However, I’ve had many landlord clients who are concerned about what they are required to do when a tenant or potential tenant makes a request for a reasonable modification.

A reasonable modification is a structural change made to existing premises, occupied or to be occupied by a person with a disability, in order to afford such person full enjoyment of the premises. Reasonable modifications can include structural changes to interiors and exteriors of dwellings and to common and public use areas. People with disabilities can ask for reasonable modification.

That’s My Story, And I’m Sticking To It

Published on: November 28, 2016 | by Racine Olson

By Fred Lewis

In Chadwick, VA. Multi-state Electric, LLC. 159 Idaho 451 (2015) the Idaho Supreme Court held that the Claimant had failed to prove that the May 26^th, 2012 caused damage to the physical structure of the body and the Claimant had failed to give the employer timely notice of the alleged accident. The Supreme Court pointed out the record was filled with inconsistent evidence from the Claimant in his medical records, recorded statement and deposition in regard to both of his alleged accidents.

But the Idaho Supreme Court held that notice requires notice of and injury and notice that the injury was caused by an accident arising out of and in the course of employment. Notice to the employer that the employee is experiencing pain or that the employee has received treatment for that pain, is insufficient to meet the notice requirement, since injury is defined as “a personal injury caused by an accident arising out of and in the course of any employment covered by the Workers’ Compensation law”. “Injury” and “accident” are not synonymous, notice must be of both, and injury and the cause of the injury.

Seat Belt Usage Awareness Campaign

Published on: November 26, 2016 | by Racine Olson

November 17, 2016 through November 27, 2016 is the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)’s nationwide campaign urging motorists to buckle up and ensure that children are correctly restrained in child safety seats. Wearing a seat belt reduces the risk of a fatal injury by 45%.

Seat belt use reduces fatalities by 74% in rollover crashes involving passenger cars and by 80% in rollover crashes involving light trucks. (This effectiveness info from Fatality Reduction by Safety Belts for Front Seat Occupants of Cars and Light Trucks, NHTSA, DOT HS 809 199)

Over Thanksgiving week, millions of motorists will hit the road to spend time with family and friends. It is one of the busiest travel times of the year. More vehicles on the roadways also pose a higher probability for more crashes to occur. An unrestrained passenger is killed every 5.5 days.

Landlord-Tenant Law and Reasonable Accommodations

Published on: November 26, 2016 | by Racine Olson

By Lane V. Erickson, Attorney

Landlords often have potential tenants or current tenants who are or become disabled physically or otherwise. When this occurs, the Fair Housing Act requires a landlord to make a reasonable accommodation for the tenant in most circumstances. My landlord clients often ask me what a Reasonable Accommodation is.

Turning again to the federal Fair Housing Act and its interpretation by both HUD and the Federal Department of Justice, the following was set forth on May 17, 2004, as an official statement concerning what constitutes a Reasonable Accommodation:

Pre-Paid Funeral as Part of Your Estate Plan

Published on: November 26, 2016 | by Racine Olson

By Lane V. Erickson, Attorney

There are just about as many different types of estate plans as there are people. What this really means is that there is a great deal of flexibility in the type and content of the estate plan that you choose. Estate planning is really designed to protect you and your loved ones regardless of your unique or unusual circumstances.

The basic components of an estate plan include a last will and testament, a durable power of attorney, and a living will and durable power of attorney for health care. Estate planning can also include various kinds of trusts that may be necessary for either yourself or for a loved one.

Unemployment Benefits Likely Gone If You Quit Your Job Without a Good Reason

Published on: November 25, 2016 | by Racine Olson

By Joseph G. Ballstaedt

In Idaho, if you leave your job voluntarily (rather than being fired), you are not eligible for unemployment benefits unless you left for “good cause connected with [your] unemployment.” The term “good cause” does not have an exact definition, and what constitutes good cause will depend on the unique facts of each individual case, but an employee’s decision to quit must be based on circumstances that are “real, not imaginary, substantial not trifling, and reasonable, not whimsical.” Ullrich v. Thorpe Elec., 109 Idaho 820, 823, 712 P.2d 521, 524 (1985). Also, rather than quit, an employee must explore viable options to resolve work problems and keep his job. See Ellis v. Northwest Fruit & Produce, 103 Idaho 821, 654 P.2d 914 (1982). And if he does quit, an employee must prove that good cause existed (the employer does not have to prove that good cause did not exist).

Over the past several decades, Idaho courts have determined that employees did not have good cause to quit under the following circumstances:

Wildlife Collision Season Is Upon Us

Published on: November 25, 2016 | by Racine Olson

It is the time of year with weather changes, mating and hunting seasons upon us when the likelihood that an Idaho driver will collide with wildlife, especially deer increases. ITD reports that injuries and fatalities spike during the months of October, November, and December due to deer versus vehicle collisions.

Nationally, deer collisions are the cause of an estimated 1.23 million collisions per year, 200 deaths and $4 billion in damages each year. With growing populations and humans encroaching into natural habitat, deer become a serious safety hazard. Drivers should be extra cautious during these months. Scan the road for deer and other danger signs.

In Idaho, thanks to the safety programs implemented by ITD and the Office of Highway Safety, deer collisions are on the decline. All drivers should keep in mind the following facts regarding deer and other wildlife: they are unpredictable; move in herds (if you see one, watch for others), dusk and dawn present the high-risk times, and they are present on all roads.

Estate Planning, Hoping for the Best But Planning for the Worst

Published on: November 24, 2016 | by Racine Olson

By Lane V. Erickson, Attorney

Estate planning is the process where you put into writing the objectives that you have that you want to accomplish and the distributions of property that will occur when you pass away. I feel that my job as an estate planning attorney is to identify clearly what it is my clients want to achieve in their estate planning. Next my job is to look down the road into the future with my client’s objectives in mind and try to perceive all the worst possible things that could happen that would mess up my client’s objectives. The final step is to plan for these bad events in a way that allows my clients objectives to be fulfilled. Essentially, what I mean is hoping for the best but planning for the worst.

Here are just a few areas that I tried to give instruction to my clients about when it comes to estate planning.

ADA Accommodations – Animals Assisting Tenants

Published on: November 24, 2016 | by Racine Olson

By Lane V. Erickson, Attorney

A reasonable accommodation, when it comes to landlord and tenant relationships, occurs when there is a change in rules, policies, practices, or services so that a person with a disability will have an equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling unit or common space. A landlord is required to do everything it can to assist a disabled tenant. However, the landlord is not required to make changes that would fundamentally alter the program or create an undue financial and/or administrative burden on the business of being a landlord. Reasonable accommodations might be necessary at all stages of the landlord-tenant relationship process, including providing an application; providing actual tenancy, or to prevent eviction.

Concerning the ADA and Fair Housing requirements regarding animals, on April 25, 2013, HUD issued Official Notice FHEO-2013-0 which contained the following statements:

Sixth District Judges Discuss Due Process

Published on: November 24, 2016 | by Racine Olson

By Joseph G. Ballstaedt

A somewhat common saying in the legal profession is that a good lawyer knows the law, but a great lawyer knows the judge. Whether or not you agree with this saying, it can’t hurt to know what local judges are stressing to lawyers in the community. On November 16, 2016, at a Portnuef Inn of Court meeting, two judges in the Sixth Judicial District, Judge Scott Axline, a magistrate judge, and Judge Stephen S. Dunn, a district judge, discussed the legal principle of due process with local attorneys.

Judge Axline reminded those present that due process of law, the constitutional guarantee that prevents the government from impacting citizens in an abusive way, has its roots in the Magna Carta dating back to the year 1215; it did not come out of thin air. Today it is found in the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments, and it is a common principle that permeates the legal system and makes it function. Based on his research, there are 36 statutes in Idaho that reference it, both in the criminal and civil context.