Shinkle v. Turner

Summary

The Kentucky Supreme Court held that a landlord may not file a forcible detainer action before the one-month written notice period required by KRS 383.195 expires. Because the landlord filed the complaint eight days after providing notice, the cause of action had not accrued when the action commenced, and the district court should have dismissed it. The court reversed the Boone Circuit Court and vacated the Boone District Court judgment, applying the public-interest exception to mootness.

Holdings

1. The public-interest exception to the mootness doctrine permitted the court to decide the appeal because the statutory forcible-detainer issue was public in nature, required authoritative guidance for future courts and public officers, and was likely to recur.
2. A landlord must give a tenant at least one month's written notice to vacate under KRS 383.195, and no forcible detainer exists until that period expires. A complaint filed before expiration of the notice period is premature and must be dismissed.

Questions Presented

1. Whether a landlord may commence a forcible-detainer action before the one-month written notice period required by KRS 383.195 has expired.
2. Whether the appeal should be dismissed as moot after the tenant vacated the premises during the appellate process.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded