## Facts

- Phillips Neighborhood Housing Trust (PNHT) operated federally subsidized rental housing in Minneapolis.
- Mary Brown and her adult son, Anthony Brown, jointly applied for and were approved as tenants; Anthony was required to sign the lease as an adult co-tenant.
- PNHT reviewed lease rules with both Mary and Anthony, who indicated they understood the lease.
- Less than a week after move-in, police responded to the apartment after Anthony threatened violence; police found crack cocaine in the unit.
- The lease authorized PNHT to cancel the lease and pursue an unlawful detainer action if “a tenant engages in illegal activity on the premises.”
- PNHT cancelled the lease and filed an unlawful detainer action to recover possession based on the drugs found in the apartment.
- Mary Brown argued she should not be evicted because she did not personally engage in illegal activity.

## Issues

1. Whether a lease provision allowing termination and unlawful detainer when “a tenant engages in illegal activity on the premises” permits eviction of all co-tenants when only one co-tenant engaged in illegal activity in the unit.

## Decision

- The Minnesota Court of Appeals affirmed the district court’s judgment for PNHT.
- The court held that the lease’s plain language permitted PNHT to cancel the lease and recover possession when one of two co-tenants engaged in illegal activity on the premises.
- Because the lease terms were clear and accepted by both co-tenants, the court did not reach whether Minn. Stat. § 504.181 (1996) independently authorized the eviction.

## Legal Principles

- Unlawful detainer proceedings may enforce clear lease provisions that condition continued tenancy on compliance with specified conduct requirements.
- Where a lease authorizes termination if “a tenant” engages in illegal activity on the premises, illegal activity by one co-tenant may justify termination of the entire tenancy and eviction of all co-tenants.
- When contract language is unambiguous and dispositive, a court may decide the case on the lease terms without resolving additional statutory grounds.

## Conclusion

The court upheld eviction under an unambiguous illegal-activity clause, ruling that drug-related illegal activity by one co-tenant authorized termination of the lease and recovery of possession against all co-tenants, even if another co-tenant claimed no personal wrongdoing.


Phillips Neighborhood Housing Tr. v. Brown, 564 N.W.2d 573 (Minn. Ct. App. 1997)