In re Bradley
In re Bradley
Opinion of the Court
This is a petition to review the order of the referee, disallowing the lien of the petitioner, Mrs. K. D. Wilcox, for rent of the premises occupied by the bankrupt. It is conceded by the trustee that the petitioner would be entitled to the lien but for two reasons; In the first place, it is contended that the lease contract was avoided by the going into effect of the Alabama prohibition law, which prevented the operation of saloons in Alabama after June 30, 1915; the lease providing that the leased premises ■ should be occupied and used only for the purpose of a saloon. In the second place, it is contended that there was an eviction by the landlord of the tenant, through an attachment which the landlord caused to be levied on the personal property of the tenant situated on the leased premises, to satisfy the landlord’s lien for rent.
The Supreme Court of Alabama, in the case of O’Byrne v. Henley, 161 Ala. 620, 50 South. 83, 23 L. R. A. (N. S.) 496, has decided that the word “saloon” includes a place for the sale of nouintoxicants as well as intoxicants, and that a lease, in the terms of the one in this case, was binding on the tenant after the prohibition of the sale of intoxicating liquors took effect in Alabama. The case of Griel Bros. Co. v. Mabson, 179 Ala. 444, 60 South. 876, 43 L. R. A. (N. S.) 664, while giving a different meaning to the word “barroom,” reaffirms the construction given the word “saloon” in the former case.
In view of the fact that the question is one involving the tenure and right of possession to real estate, and a local one, the decision of the court of last resort of Alabama should be followed by this court, especially as the lease in this case was executed after the decision of tlio Supreme Court of Alabama in the case of O’Byrne v. Henley, and yerv probably in reliance upon it. Abraham v. Casey, 179 U. S. 210, 21 Sup. Ct. 88, 45 L. Ed. 156; Clarke v. Clarke, 178 U. S. 186, 20 Sup. Ct. 873, 44 L. Ed. 1028; Old Colony Trust Co. v. City of Omaha, 230 U. S. 100, 33 Sup. Ct. 967, 57 L. Ed. 1410; Brown Forman Co. v. Kentucky, 217 U. S. 563, 30 Sup. Ct. 578, 54 L. Ed. 883.
The law of Alabama is also equally well settled that, where the destruction of the leased premises is partial and not total, there is no remission or apportionment of rent because of such partial destruction, unless the lease itself so stipulated. McMillan v. Solomon, 42 Ala. 356, 94 Am. Dec. 654; Chamberlain v. Godfrey, 50 Ala. 530; Warren v. Wagner, 75 Ala. 188, 51 Am. Rep. 446; Cook v. Anderson, 85 Ala. 99, 4 South. 713. The intimation of the court in the opinion in the case of O’Byrue v. Henley, as to a possible right of the tenant to an apportionment of the rent obligation in such a case, in the face of the settled rule in Alabama to the contrary, would seem unwarranted. The tenant is liable lor the stipulated rental in full or for none, under the. Alabama decisions cited.
Without passing upon the right of a sheriff to permanently close premises upon which is situated personal property upon which he has levied, it seems reasonable that he should have the right to the temporary possession of the premises, long enough for him in the exercise-of reasonable diligence to inventory and remove for storage the property levied upon. This is the effect of the cases of Daniels v. Logan, 47 Iowa, 395, and of Wolf v. Ranck, 161 Iowa, 1, 141 N. W. 442.
In this case, all of the personal property on the premises was levied upon, so that the premises could not have been longer used by the bankrupt for the conduct of his business, since his entire stock was in the possession of the sheriff. If the sheriff had placed a bailee in possession of the personal property, as he had the undoubted right to do, the-result would have been exactly the same to the tenant. In this case, the tenant was foreclosed from continuing business, even before the levy, by the filing of the petition in bankruptcy. There is no evidence of any declaration of the landlord or her agent, from which it could be-inferred that the purpose of the attachment was other than the collection of the rent. Indeed, it seems quite clear that there was no other purpose on her part than to secure her rent in response to the invitation of the tenant to do so. Nor did the sheriff, while the agent was present, do anything inconsistent with a purpose merely to take possession of the personal property on the premises against which the levy was directed. At most, it can only be said that he selected a method of retaining custody of the property levied upon that was irregular, but which evinced no intent either upon his part or that of the agent to closeup the premises for any other purpose than to keep safely the goods-levied upon. Nothing was done by the sheriff that is not reasonably referable to a custody of the goods levied upon, and for this reason
The petition for review is granted, and an order will be here made establishing the lien of the petitioner upon the fixtures of the bankrupt (or the proceeds of their sale) that were located on the leased premises during the term.
Reference
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- In re BRADLEY
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- Syllabus
- 1. Landlord and Tenant 103, 199%—Liability for Rent—“Saloon.” A lease of promises, made when it was lawful to sell intoxicants, to be occupied and used only for the purposes of a saloon, which were in fact used for the sale of nonintoxieants, cigars, and tobacco, was not terminated by a subsequent law prohibiting the sale of intoxicants, as the word “saloon” includes a place for the sale of nonintoxieants as well as intoxicants; and, as the destruction of the leased, premises was partial and not total, there was no remission or apportionment of rent. JEd. Note.—For other cases, see Landlord and Tenant, Cent. Dig. §§ 329, 330, 701; Dec. Dig. 103, 199%. For other definitions, see Words and Phrases, First and Second Series, Saloon.] 2. Courts ©=»:>60—United States Courts—Decisions oe State Courts. Where a lease of premises for use only as a saloon was executed after decisions of the Alabama court of last resort that the prohibition law did not forbid the sale of nonintoxieants upon such premises and that their sale did not release the tenant from rent, such decisions should be followed by tlie United States District Court in bankruptcy in determining the tenant’s liability for rent. ¡Ed. Note.—For other cases, see Courts, Gent. Dig. §§ 954r-957, 960-968; Dec. Dig. 300.] ©MsVor other casos see same topic & KEY-NUMBER in all Key-Numbered Digests & Indexes 3. Attachment 161—Levy—Possession of Premises. A sheriff levying upon personal property has the right to the temporary possession of the premises long enough for him, in the exercise of reasonable diligence, to inventory and remove for storage the property levied upon. [Ed. Note.—For other cases, see Attachment, Gent. Dig. §§ 457-459; Dec. Dig. 161.] 4. Landlord and Tenant 190—Eviction—Levy of Attachment. An attachment and levy in aid of the collection of rent under which, the sheriff, after the filing of a petition in bankruptcy against the tenant, without objection by the tenant and with the acquiescence of the landlord’s agent, locked the storehouse in which the tenant’s stock of goods was kept, and surrendered possession to the receiver in bankruptcy appointed the following day, did not amount to an eviction, so as to defeat a claim for rent. [Ed. Note.—For other cases, see Landlord- and Tenant, Gent. Dig. §§ 765-769; Dec. Dig. 190.] 5. Landlord and Tenant 109—Rent—Surrender of Premises. The tenant’s surrender of the key of premises on demand of a sheriff attaching his personal property could not be construed as a surrender Of the premises, nor could the sheriff’s acceptance of the key in the presence of the landlord’s agent be construed as an acceptance of a surrender. [Ed. Note.—For other cases, see Landlord and Tenant, Cent. Dig. §§ 350-360, 363-365, 368-371;' Dec. Dig. 109.] • For other cases see same topic & KEY-NUMBER'in all Key-Numbered Digests & Indexes