Campbell v. Gullo
Campbell v. Gullo
Opinion of the Court
In August, 1916, Gullo & Viso leased a house to Clara Campbell for the purposes of prostitution in the restricted district of the city of Shreveport, for a term of three years, at $80 a month, payable monthly. In August, 1917, Gullo & Viso obtained a judgment against Clara Campbell, condemning her to pay the then accrued part of this rent and the future installments as they should accrue, and perpetuating a writ of provisional seizure of her furniture for the entire debt. In November, 1917, the city of Shreveport abolished the restricted district, and made it a crime to keep a house of prostitution in said city. Clara Campbell brings the present suit to annul said lease and vacate said judgment, on the ground that the said lease became null when the purpose for which it was made became criminal, and that said judgment became null when the consideration of the debt which it enforced became criminal, and also on the ground that she was a married woman at the time the lease was entered into, and that therefore the debt was a debt of the community of acquits, and gains existing between her and her husband, and not her own. She alleges that she is no. longer a married woman, and does not allege that she had not already ceased to be such at the time the suit against her was filed and, the judgment against her was rendered.
“The estoppel of a judgment extends only to the facts as they were at the time the judgment was rendered, and to the legal rights and relations of the parties as fixed by the facts so determined, and, when new facts intervene before the second suit, furnishing a new basis for the claims and defenses of the parties, respectively, the issues are no longer the same, and consequently the former judgment cannot be pleaded in bai\” 23 Cyc. 1161; Martin v. Walker, 43 La. Ann. 1019, 10 South. 365, and cases there cited; Perrin v. Crescent City Stockyard, 119 La. 873, 44 South. 513.
“But if the contract consists of several successive obligations to be performed at different times, and the equivalent is not given in advance for the whole, but is either expressly or impliedly promised to be given at future periods, then, if the cause of the contract, corresponding to either of the successive obligations, should fail, the obligation depending on it will cease also. Thus in leases for years the obligation to pay the yearly rent ceases if the property which is leased should be destroyed.”
That the courts will not lend their aid towards the enforcement of a lease for a purpose forbidden by a city ordinance, see Milne v. Davidson, 5 Mart. (N. S.) 409, 16 Am. Dec. 189. In fact, citation of authority is not necessary in support of the proposition that courts will not lend their aid to enforce a contract having for its purpose the commission of a crime. It appearing, then, that from and after the date of the going into effect of the said ordinance of the city of Shreveport making the keeping of a house of prostitution in said city a crime, the said judgment became one enforcing the payment of a debt, the consideration of which was a contract entered into for the purpose of violating said ordinance and thereby committing a crime, the said judgment, in so far as it enforces the payment of rent accruing from and after that date, became one which the courts will not uphold, and which therefore will have to be vacated.
The judgment appealed from is therefore affirmed in so far as it sustained the exception of no cause of action to all the demands of plaintiff’s petition, except that, for vacation of judgment in so far as the judgment in question enforces the payment of the rent in question to accrue from and after the going into effect of the ordinance of the city of Shreveport making it a crime to keep a house of prostitution in said city. As to the latter demand the said judgment is set aside, and the exception of no cause of action is overruled, and the case is remanded, to be proceeded with according to law.
Reference
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- CAMPBELL v. GULLO
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- 12 cases
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- Syllabus
- (Syllabus by Editorial Staf.) 1. Judgment In the absence of an allegation that plaintiff, who is no longer a married woman, was a married woman at the time a former suit against her was filed, the judgment in such suit, condemning her to pay a debt, is conclusive that the debt was hers and not that of the community. 2. Landlord and Tenant The lease of a house for purposes of prostitution cannot be enforced or annulled under Code, art. 1892, providing that all contracts having an immoral object are void, as the courts will neither enforce nor annul an immoral contract, but will leave the parties where they have placed themselves. 3. Judgment After a judgment has been rendered for a. debt, it is too late to question the morality of the consideration for the debt, as all issues that might have been raised in defense to the suit in which the judgment was rendered are foreclosed by the judgment. 4. Judgment The estoppel of a judgment extends only to the facts as they existed at the time the judgment was rendered and to the legal rights and relations of the parties as fixed by the facts so determined, and when new facts intervene before the second suit, furnishing a new basis for the claims and defenses of the parties, the issues are no longer the same, and the former judgment cannot be pleaded in bar. 5. Judgment Under Code, art. 1899, providing that if a contract consists of several successful obligations to be performed at different times and the equivalent is not given in advance for the whole, but is either expressly or impliedly promised to be given at future periods, then, if the cause of the contract, corresponding- to either of the successful obligations, should fail, the obligation depending on it will cease also, where after the rendition of a judgment condemning plaintiff to pay rent then due for premises leased for purposes of prostitution and future installments as they came due, the city prohibited houses of prostitution, the judgment will be vacated so far as it enforces the payment of rent accruing after the date of the prohibitory ordinance, since, while the debt may have ceased to be a debt for rent and become a judgment debt so far as the judgment was absolute, this is not true in so far as the judgment was to operate in the future as a continuing judgment.