Echo Consulting Services, Inc. v. North Conway Bank
Supreme Court of New Hampshire
669 A.2d 227 (1995)
Echo Consulting Services (plaintiff) leased space with rights of common access and parking-lot use in a building later purchased by North Conway Bank (defendant); during renovations, Echo experienced noise, dirt, occasional power outages, an inaccessible rear parking lot, and after North Conway changed the locks on one entrance, could only use a rear entrance after hours, which Echo claimed was itself obstructed. Echo sued for constructive eviction, partial actual eviction, and breach of the covenant of quiet enjoyment, and the trial court ruled against Echo on all claims.
Whether there must be intent to evict on the landlord's part for a tenant to establish constructive eviction, and whether the covenant of quiet enjoyment protects a tenant only against denial of actual possession or extends further to substantial interferences with use and enjoyment.