Rutledge v. White
Rutledge v. White
Opinion of the Court
The action is for an unlawful detainer of plaintiff’s premises. The plaintiff was the only witness who testified in the case, and there is no dispute as to the facts.
Plaintiff authorized defendant, as a mere gratuity, to enter upon and occupy plaintiff’s premises for “about a month.” Under this permission defendant entered upon the premises about the last of December, and near the last of January plaintiff told defendant that plaintiff’s own family would want to. move into the house on the 1st of the month (February); whereupon defendant said he would be out “in about a month” from the time he went in, as he agreed to he. Defendant failed to move out, and at some time prior to February 12 following he declined to get out.
On the theory that this permissive possession of the defendant amounted to a tenancy at will, which could not he terminated except upon 10 days’ notice in writing (Code. § 4732), and no such notice having been given by plaintiff to defendant, the trial judge excluded from the evidence the statutory demand for possession, made more than 10 days before the filing of the action, and gave for defendant the general affirmative charge.
We therefore hold, upon the foregoing considerations, that the trial court erred in excluding proof of plaintiff’s demand for possession of the premises, which was a necessary preliminary to his maintenance of the suit.
For this error the judgment will be reversed, and the cause remanded for another trial.
Reversed and remanded.
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