Kohl v. PNC Bank Natl. Assn. et al. - Pennsylvania Supreme Court - December 27, 2006 majority http://www.courts.state.pa.us/OpPosting/Supreme/out/J-129-2005mo.pdf
concur/dissent http://www.courts.state.pa.us/OpPosting/Supreme/out/J-129-2005cd.pdf
In a 5-1 decision, the court held that a "suit by a landlord which substantially impairs a tenant's possessory interest in a leasehold, brought in bad faith, maliciously, or otherwise without probable cause and primarily for a purpose unrelated to seeking legal redress, constitutes a breach of the landlord's [implied] covenant of quiet enjoyment," citing the lower court decision in the case, 863 A.2d 23, 31 (Pa. Super. 2004) and Raker v. G.C. Murphy Co., 58 A.2d 18 (Pa. 1948).
The court mentioned the "need to protect a litigant's free access to the courts under Article I, sec. 11, of the Pennsylvania Constitution ("All courts shall be open...") and noted that "that law does not punish parties who avail themselves of the courts except in very limited circumstances manifesting bad faith, in order to avoid the potential chilling effect individuals' willingness to seek legal redress."
In discussing the covenant of quiet enjoyment, the court noted that it is "implied in all leases" and stated that it is "settled in this state that any wrongful act of the landlord which results in an interference of the tenant's possession, in whole or in part, is an eviction for which the landlord is liable in damages to the tenant." The covenant is breached by such acts as threatening eviction if the tenant's boyfriend visited the tenant at the property. On the other hand, there has to be "more than mere infringement of the tenant's rights." The act of the landlord must "substantially impair...a tenant's possessory interest in a leasehold."
