Schweikert v. Seavey
Schweikert v. Seavey
Opinion of the Court
Action to recover possession of real property demised by plaintiff to defendant, the léase having expired, and defendant continuing in possession. The cause was tried by the court without a jury, and judgment given in favor'of defendant, from which, and from the order denying his motion for a new trial, plaintiff appeals.
The complaint sets forth a written lease for one year from November 5, 1896, at a certain cash rental; that on November 6, 1897, plaintiff made demand in waiting for possession; that more than three days have elapsed since making demand, and defendant has refused and neglected to quit possession. The complaint was filed November 24, 1897, and states the action of unlawful detainer, under section 1161 of the Code of Civil Procedure. The answer alleges that about March 15, 1897, plaintiff and defendant entered into an agreement by the terms of which plaintiff leased the premises to defendant for an additional year, to begin at the expiration of the term for which defendant then held the premises, and on the same terms; and that plaintiff further agreed at the same time to employ defendant to do certain described farm work for him, and apply the compensation therefor on the rental for said additional year. The cause was tried on February 28, 1898, and the court found the written lease as alleged in the complaint; that defendant went into possession thereunder, and is now in possession under the verbal lease as alleged in the answer; and as conclusion of law the court found that defendant was entitled to judgment for his costs, and that
Appellant contends that at most the contract was conditional ; i. e., that it was a condition precedent that defendant was to summer-fallow the land if he could not plant it. As it turned out, he succeeded in cultivating seventy acres, but did not summer-fallow the remaining twenty acres for the first year of the lease. We do not think the evidence will bear the construction claimed by appellant. There is certainly no direct evidence, nor is there any intention plainly expressed, tending to show that the matter of summer-fallowing the land was to be a condition upon which the extension of the lease was to depend. The rule is that stipulations in a contract are not to be construed as conditions precedent, unless the construction is made necessary by the terms of the contract: Deacon v. Blodgett, 111 Cal. 416, 44 Pac. 159. In the present ease the matter of summer-fallow was a suggestion rather than a stipulation, and was a matter of no concern to plaintiff, for he was not to be paid a crop rental.
Appellant also contends that he rescinded the contract in July, 1897. The evidence may tend to show that plaintiff attempted to repudiate, but not to rescind, the contract, for the evidence fails to disclose such a situation as would have entitled him to rescind (Civ. Code, sec. 1689) ; and plaintiff neither restored nor offered to restore to defendant the value he had received from defendant under the contract (Civ. Code, sec. 1691).
Error is claimed in overruling plaintiff’s objection to the following question put to defendant as a witness by his counsel: ‘ Have you been paid for this work you did for Mr. Schweikert 1” This was the work he had agreed to do as part consideration for extending the lease, and the value of which was to be applied to the rental for the' second year. We see no prejudicial error in the question, even if it be admitted as not within any issue. When defendant was testifying as a witness in his own behalf, he was asked by his counsel whether he held the premises at that time under the lease of November 5, 1896, or the agreement made in January and March, 1897. The question was objected to as calling for an opinion, and as immaterial. The question tended to invade the prerogative of the court, and asked for a con
Plaintiff had alleged in his complaint “that the term for which said premises were demised as aforesaid has terminated,” and it is now urged that the court erred in not finding on this allegation, which was denied in the answer. No question was involved as to the termination of the written lease. By its terms it expired November 5, 1898. The real question at issue was not whether the written lease had expired, but whether it had been renewed. If the court had found that the written lease had expired, it would not have changed the result. Injury must be shown, or must be plainly inferable, before there can be a reversal.
It is urged as error that the court failed to find as to defendant’s allegation in the answer that he had performed work for plaintiff of a certain value. The court found that defendant performed work for plaintiff for which he was to be paid a reasonable sum, and that “said sum so earned by the defendant for so doing said work it was then agreed should apply pro tanto on the rent to be paid plaintiff by defendant .... for the said additional term then agreed upon.” It was not necessary to find as to the value of this work. The action does not purport to be for an adjustment of mutual accounts. This feature of the case was introduced as part of the contract under which defendant claimed the right to hold over, and it was immaterial what was the precise amount agreed to be paid for the work defendant agreed to do for plaintiff. A finding of the amount or omitting to find it could not have affected the result in any way. The judgment and order should be affirmed.
We concur: Gray, C.; Haynes, C.
For the reasons given in the foregoing opinion the judgment and order are affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.