Justice Donna M. Mills
Landlord sued tenant Sheehan for unpaid rent resulting from his alleged breach of a lease after terminating early without notice to the owner. Plaintiff sought partial summary judgment against Sheehan, who opposed. Sheehan renewed the lease for a two-year extension to expire on April 30, 2012. He admitted he brought a dog as a pet while the lease contained a “no pet” clause. Sheehan was informed to remove the pet or vacate the premises, which he did, and turned over the keys to plaintiff’s superintendent on Sept. 29, 2010. Plaintiff re-rented the premises in May 2011 and now sought to collect rent from Sheehan for the unoccupied months, and the difference between Sheehan’s monthly rent and the new tenant’s lower rent amount from May 2011 through April 2012. It also sought money for damages done to the property. The court noted mere retention of keys to the premises by the landlord after tenant returned them did not alone constitute a surrender by operation of law. Yet it found Sheehan raised triable issues of fact regarding plaintiff’s intent to re-let the premises and if it accepted control and possession upon retaining the keys from Sheehan in September 2010. Thus, summary judgment was premature and thus denied.
