Johnson v. Louisiana Ry. & Nav. Co.
Johnson v. Louisiana Ry. & Nav. Co.
Opinion of the Court
This ease involves only issues'of fact, and the testimony is conflicting on almost every point. The district judge, who saw and heard the witnesses, believed the plaintiff and her witnesses; and no compelling reason is suggested by the record or
I.
The defendant owns a number of tenement houses in which it lets rooms by the month. Its president owns others in the same neighborhood, which he also lets in the same way. All these houses are known to the tenants and to the neighbors as “railroad property.” The company and its president employ the same collector, each paying half his salary; and all receipts for rent are made out upon forms of which carbon copies are kept by the collector. These forms all bear at the top the name of the company, its office address, and phone number. A score or more of them were produced at the trial, and one was brought up in the original as a sample of all othez-s. Each bears a serial number, put on by a numbering machine; the carbons bear the same serial number, put thereon in the same way. Their use has been extensive, the one before us bearing the serial number 48431. An officer of the company, to wit, the secretary to the president, audits these receipts regularly.
It is therefore quite immaterial for the purposes of this case that the premises on account of which this controversy arises, belonged to the president of the company and not to the company itself, the ostensible lessor thereof.
II.
Plaintiff leased a room at No. 1320 Girod street, and paid her rent in advance. Rinding that this room leaked, she applied for another to a woman whom defendant’s collector had placed in charge of the properties as a sort of superintendent, factotum, and go-between to look after the tenants, bring him their rent, and take back the receipts which he gave her. This person told plaintiff that there was a vacant room at No. 1312 Girod street, which she could have; and plaintiff moved in.
Three days later plaintiff walked out on a side porch to hang up a towel and stepped on a plank which broke under her; whereby she lost her balance and fell to the ground 12 feet below.
III.
IT.
Decree.
The judgment appealed from is therefore affirmed.
Rehearing refused by the WHOLE COURT.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- JOHNSON v. LOUISIANA RY. & NAV. CO.
- Cited By
- 5 cases
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- (Syllabus by the Court.) I.Landlord and tenant The estoppel between landlord and tenant as to title in the former is mutual, and the landlord can no more deny his obligations as owner and lessor than the tenant can dispute his rights as such. 2. Landlord and tenant In the absence of agreement to the contrary, the tenant of a room in a house has the use of the porches accessible from such room, in common with the other occupants. (Additional Syllabus by Editorial Staff.) 3. Landlord and tenant l64(l) — One taking possession by permission of landlord’s agent not a trespasser, as regarded liability for injuries. A lessee of a room, who took possession of a room other than the one rented, by permission of one in charge of the property as a sort of superintendent, factotum, and go-between, was not a mere trespasser, as far as liability for personal injuries was concerned. 4. Damages &wkey;>!30(4) — Seven hundred and fifty dollars held adequate for broken arm and injury to knee. Where plaintiff broke both bones of her right forearm, and suffered a severe contusion of the right knee, and was confined to her bed for a week, and her arm was in splints for three months, a judgment for $750 was adequate.