- ... ., :'. • 1 11I11 n . .. . ~ 11IIII11I ., Top court holds tenants may. withhold rent to' force repairs Survey: firms expe .trim '92 salary hike lowest level in 20 .y Volume 21, Number 13 by Barbara Rattle c. top court also ruled that tenants habitableattheoutsetofthelease Managing Editor. .:'.:may recover special damages for. term and will remairi So during' Continued uncertainty about next year to their A unenimous Utah SUpreme . Personal injury, property dam- the course of the tenancy." _ the U.S. economy is taking some nearly two decaci Cowt last week adopted the con- age,relocationexpensesorotiJer While determination of; of the steani out of corporate Sibson & Co.' cept of warranty of habitability similar injuries occurring as a whether a dwelling is habitable America's compensation pro- "CompensationP with regard to the rental or leas- foreseeable result of a landlord's dependsontheindividualfactsof grams,accordingtoanewsurvey. which was base ing of real property, and ruled breach. They may also recover each case, she said, "as a general Recent growth of incentive from 550compar that tenants may withhold rent if general damages in the form of rule, the warranty of habitability' compensation programs for non- virtually all indu. alandlord failstocureabreach of rentabatementorreirnbursement requires that the landlord main- executive employees leveled off The numbe: the warranty, thus "motivating 'The concept of warranty of tain 'bare living requirements' in 1991,according toNewJersey- offering variable the landlord to repair the prem- habitability," wrote Justice and that the premises are fit for based Sibson & Co., a human toemployeesbelc ises,' I Christine M. Durham for the human occupation," Durham resource management consulting ranks - 51 perce "Under the prevailing con- i- court, "...is based on the theory said. firm. unchanged this y temporaryviewoftheresidential. that the residential landlord war- Failure to supply h~tor~t-..,.;'. Furthermore, companies j; !~und. . lease. as: .,'a. ~·.contractual~if~thaUheleasedpremiseSare . See COURT page two -, --,. .: expecttotrimtheirsalaryincreases Vanable pay transaction...the teMnt~sobliga-' . profit sharing, ye: ~;:1~~~:~~~~~~~;~'$70 million discount toy retailer to ~=~a;: ~!tr.rtQf~.~7.~~~eurt·;·<enter·tUtahl·with !'facto~outlet<store .'.. _, ':r:~~:!~an7e In a landmark decision, the . by Joe Stewart·Mash Four percent of r L 'e: g, sla tor' Staff Writer The concern does not carry Value Merchants' sharesare considering addir. damaged goods, he added,. publiclytradedonNASDAQ,an4 fears court Toy Liquidators, 1l0-store . ' Kastel said he believes that, there are seven million shares 4 . see COMPENSAl a division of Milwaukee, Wis~ value-based outlets appeal to outstanding. Annual salescome SL' s Ste rilling may: cousin-based Value Merchants ;' people in all income levels, and in at about $140 million, with Inc., is planning to open 3'3,000 that shopping at outlet malls has Toy Liquidators contributing Med i ca I have backlash square foot factory outlet store become anall-dayeventinitself. about half the volume. Utah House of Representa- the Park City Outlet Mall in time Value Merchants, formerly for Chap tives Speaker Craig Moody for the traditional Christmas the Wisconsin Toy Co., which The company plans to open " voiced concern last week about shopping season. was founded in 1944 to act pri- 20 new stores annually with 10- reorgan I. the state Supreme Court's land- The primary focus of Value marily a toy wholesaler, has 110 cations determined by the num- by Lara Bringard mark decision in W~ v.lobe.' Merchants is the "value end of storeslocatedonlyinoutletmalls her of outlet malls built nation- Staff Writer in which the top court held that retailing," according to Gary across the country. wide. Publicly-held: :enants may withhold rent until Kastel, director of corporate Salt Lake aga,·n rated one of cal Systems Inc., :. heir premises are rendered communications for Value Mer- '1 W.•WestValleyCi 'habitable" by landlords. chants, whose other major divi-. nation's best housing markets employer ofnearly Moody, lead sponsor of the sion is All A Dollar. the manufacture, . Jtah Fit Premises Act - Utah's The difference between Toy Salt Lake continues to be a age." and development Irst pro-tenantlegislation, which Liquidators and othertoy factory bright spot in the nation's other- The Mountain region not equipment hasmea vent into effect in 1990,oneyear outlet retailers is that Toy Liqui- wiselaclduster housingindustry, . only enjoyed thebestjob growth petition with the I ifterthe W'ade casewasheard- dators offers toys from a variety a national research publication trend in the last four quarters, it Bankruptcy Court aid the ability to withhold pay-. of manufacturers rather thanjust reported last week. has also seen a rebound in trict of Utah. nent might very well be used by one,asisthecasewithtraditional In a second quarter report, homebuilding. "We had to me mscrupuloustenants toavoidthe , outlet stores Kastel explained. Livonia, Michigan-based U.S. "For the second quarter," theunsecuredcredin esponsibility of paying rent. Kastel stated thatToyLiqui- . Housing Markets, a publication U.S. Housing Markets states, holders, and it [the 'There's been a game going. datorssellsqualitynationalbrand ·of Dallas-headquartered Lomas 'The Mountain states had a bet- brought about by Cc n for years between tenants and toys that either did not sell well Mortgage USA, notes that Salt ter year-to-year improvement in Fund's refusal to ace indlords, and this [the right to or are manufacturer's overruns. Lake is among only five U.S. single-familypermitvolumethan nancingplan,"presid /ithhold rent] will only open the . markets with a total building any other region in the country. Dale Putnam said oor to more game-playing," lnside permit gain to mid-year, fueled The single famiJy rebounds in added heexpects the 100dy opined last week. in part by the creation of 12,600 Denver-Boulder, Phoenix and to be back on track Rent withholding wasdelib- new jobs in the metro area in the SaIt Lake City carried the re- weeks pending court rately left out of the Utah Fit Mortgage rates page 15 last four quarters - "one of the gion.' the firm's reorganizz remises Act - which passed in Alston Chase page II best in the nation." Salt Lake ranked number "It is a planned Ie 1990session after a decade's Mike Christensen page 14 Accordingtothepublication, four on the publication's "Bio- .: ~__ , .r . . ., ~