Technology continues to challenge the law.  For example, what does it mean for someone to have an address?  Is that where a person is physically located or where that person can be found in cyberspace?  Such were the questions confronting the Appellate Division of the Superior Court of Los Angeles in Foster v. Williams, Case No. No. BV 030709 (Sept. 9, 2014).

The problem arose when a landlord served a 3-day notice to quit on a tenant.  Section 1161(2) of the California Code of Civil Procedure requires that the notice specify the “address of the person to whom the rent payment shall be made”.  The landlord's notice accordingly listed a telephone number and included the following:

“Your rent payment should be made payable to: Guest House Management and payment shall be delivered to:

Name: Rick at the following address: www.erentpayment.com . . . . .”

The tenant argued that the notice was defective because it included a URL (uniform resource locator) address rather than the address of a physical location.  The Appellate Division agreed, finding that the correlation of the address to a person in the statute "indicates that the 'address' which is intended is a physical address where that person can be found to receive rent payment, and not a string of characters identifying the location of a website."  The Appellate Division also cited legislative history evidencing a concern that renters might be confused about where payment should be made.  According to the Court, "A notice with a URL address does not inform the tenant where he or she can physically go to pay the rent or where to mail the rent.  Lack of an address to a physical place could lead to confusion, cause the tenant to delay paying rent, and result in the expiration of the three-day notice and subsequent court-ordered eviction."

While this opinion is concerned with a particular statute and a type of summary proceeding, it does highlight the fact that changing technology may be making ambiguous terms that were once capable of only one meaning.  Another reminder, this blog is not legal advice.  Please consult with a lawyer if you have questions about unlawful detainer actions.