Gately v. Campbell
Gately v. Campbell
Opinion of the Court
Action for damages for personal injuries. Verdict and judgment for defendants. Motion for new trial and order denying same. Appeal from judgment and order. The plaintiff rented rooms in a tenement-house at 8 “Parks Place” in the city and county of San Francisco, in January, 1893. It does not clearly appear who was the owner of the premises so leased to plaintiff, but the arrangements were made with one Mrs. Falls, to whom plaintiff paid the rent. On the 8th of September, 1893, plaintiff claims to have been severely injured by a fall caused by the floor or platform giving way under her feet. In the first count of the third amended complaint it is alleged that the injury was caused by reason of the breaking away of the floor, which was not originally safely constructed and was never constructed so as to be safe for human occupation, which facts were well known to defendants, and were never known or discovered by the plaintiff until she was so injured.
In the second count of said amended complaint it is alleged that some two or three weeks prior to September 8th, one day while passing over the floor plaintiff thought she felt the floor “shake a little,” and for fear the same might give way she notified the defendants thereof and requested them to examine the same and strengthen it if they found it necessary. Both counts of the said amended complaint are sworn to by plaintiff. There is no testimony in the record' tending to support the second count, but, on the contrary, the plaintiff testified that there was nothing during her tenancy that would indicate that there was danger in living there or in passing out and walking over the floor from day to day. That the floor looked all right. Counsel for plaintiff in his brief says that the contention of the plaintiff is “that the platform and its supports were faultily and unsafely constructed and that the latter were rotten and decayed
This contention is answered by the fact that there is no testimony in the record that the building, at the time it was leased to plaintiff, was not in a condition fit for the occupation of hu
A further and conclusive answer to this contention is that the obligation imposed upon the landlord by section 1941 should be and is limited by the extent of the privilege conferred upon tho tenant by section 194.3, and the only consequence of a breach of the landlord’s obligation is that the tenant may either vacate the premises or expend one month’s rent for repairs. (Civ. Code, sec. 1942; Van Every v. Ogg, supra; Sieber v. Blanc, supra.) It follows that the instructions given to the jury by the learned judge of the court below were correct. Most of the criticisms of plaintiff’s counsel is directed at the following instruction given by the court:
“As I understand it, the plaintiff does not claim that Mrs. Falls ever said, before the injury, that she knew of the danger, or that the porch was liable to fall down. It is also in evidence by the testimony that the plaintiff herself did not apprehend any danger from the condition of the place. Then these two parties, Mr. and Mrs. Falls, have been called, and they have testified that they never knew anything about it until it occurred. If you are satisfied that that testimony is true, you can find a verdict in favor of the defendant. If not, )rou will find for such damages as you shall think proper to allow, bearing in mind that in a case of this kind the duty of proving notice and knowledge upon the part of the agents rests upon the plaintiff.”
It is admitted that the constitution gives judges the right to state the testimony and declare the law, but it is claimed that under the provisions of section 608 of the Code of Civil Procedure that “if the court state the testimony of the case it must inform the jury that they are the exclusive judges of all questions of fact.” We think the court left it plain to the jury that they were the exclusive judges of the facts. It said: “If you are satisfied this testimony is true, you can find a verdict in favor of the defendant; if not, you will find for such damages as you shall think proper to allow.”
In the case of Jones v. Chalfant, 31 Pac. Rep. 257, the in
“The charge of the trial court is an able exposition of the law governing the rights of a tenant as against a landlord for injuries resulting from dilapidations arising subsequent to the inception of the tenancy, but, it is submitted with all respect to the learned trial judge, that it is not relevant to the claims of plaintiff in this case, who asserts a cause of action for damages suffered by reason of the negligence and practical fraud of defendants in leasing premises known to them to be unsafe and unfit for human occupancy without putting the same in repair, and concealing the true state of affairs from the tenant.”
If the instructions of the court in regard to the law giving the rights of a tenant as against a landlord for injuries arising from dilapidations subsequent to the inception of the lease “is not relevant to the claims of plaintiff,” we cannot see how the instruction offered by counsel would be relevant. The testimony supports the verdict and we find no prejudicial error in the record.
We advise that the judgment and order be affirmed.
For the reasons given in the foregoing opinion the judgment and order are affirmed.
Temple, J., McFarland, J., Henshaw, J.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- DELIA GATELY v. H. F. CAMPBELL
- Cited By
- 18 cases
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- Landlord and Tenant—Defective Condition of Porch Floor—Injury to Tenant—Liability of Landlord.—In the absence ot any covenant by the landlord for repairs in the lease of rented premises, or of any fraudulent representation or concealment on his part, or knowledge by him that the premises when rented were unfit for occupancy, he is not liable for injury to the tenant caused by the breaking away of the defective floor of a porch. Id.—Tenantable Condition of Premises—Construction of Code—Obligation of Landlord Limited by Privilege of Tenant.-—The obli- , gation imposed by section 1941 of the Civil Code upon the lessor of a building intended for the occupation of human beings, to put and keep it in a condition fit for such occupaion, in the absence of an,agreement to the contrary, is limited by the extent of the privilege conferred upon the tenant by section 1942; . and, the only consequence of a breach of the landlord’s obligation is that the tenant may either vacate the premises or expend one month’s rent for repairs. Id.—Instruction—Statement of Testimony—Absence of Notice to Agent of Landlord—Burden of Proof.—An instruction stating . the testimony showing an absence of notice to or knowledge by' the agents of the landlord of the defective condition of the floor of the porch, and stated to the jury: “If you are satisfied that that testimony is true, you can find a verdict in favor of the defendant. If not, you will find for such damages as you shall think proper to allow, hearing in mind that, in a case of -this kind, the duty of proving notice and knowledge upon the part - of the agents rests upon the plaintiff,” is properly given, and ■ does not violate section 608 of the Code of Civil Procedure, re- . quiring that if the testimony is stated, the court must inform the jury that they are the exclusive judges of all questions of fact. Id.—Inapplicable Instruction—Assumption of Knowledge of Defects. An instruction requested by the defendants assuming that the defendants had knowledge of defects in the floor, rendering it unsafe and dangerous, in the absence of any evidence to that effect, is properly refused as inapplicable. Id.—Requested Instruction as to Notice to Repair.—An instruction requested by plaintiff as to giving notice to the landlord to repair defects or dilapidations is properly refused where there is no testimony upon that subject, and it was given substantially in the charge of the court, and where plaintiff, in his brief, while conceding the correctness of the charge as to the rights of a tenant for injuries resulting from dilapidations arising subsequent to the inception, of the lease, alleges its irrelevancy to the claim of the plaintiff.