Norris v. McFadden
Norris v. McFadden
Opinion of the Court
Plaintiff, as trustee representing the
The first performance was on November 27, 1905. Plaintiff was required to promise the city building inspector certain changes before a performance was permitted. Firemen were placed by the fire marshal on the premises in the presence of the people, on account of
In January, 1904, shortly after the Iroquois theater disaster in Chicago, a committee, which had been appointed by the common council of Grand Rapids, consisting of the ordinance committee, the board of police and fire commissioners, fire marshal and building inspector, “to examine the several opera houses, theaters and places of amusement in the city, to ascertain if such places are so constructed and operated as to comply with the requirements of the city ordinances, and what, if any, changes should be made to render them entirely safe .to the public,” reported to the council, together with a recommendation for its adoption, and that a certified copy of the report be delivered to the owners of the properties affected, and that each of them be required within 60 days after such notice to make the changes recommended. As to the Auditorium, the changes required were “ to put in a wide stairway at the northeast corner of the building from the sidewalk to the balcony and main floor, and stairs leading from the same to the ground; that call boxes be placed in the building and at least two lines of hose be placed on the main floor, two in the balcony and two on the stage, to cover all exposed woodwork in the basement with ex-
Afterwards, in February, 1906, the council again considered this matter, and a special committee made report as to what defendant had done and omitted to do, relative to the changes required by action taken in January, 1904. This report shows the condition in the basement under the Auditorium as to liability of fire from the inflammable nature of the material crowded into it, and the use of a gas stove within a few inches of an unprotected wooden partition. This committee recommended other and further changes to be made by plaintiff, and expressed the opinion that the condition at this place was hazardous; that the proprietors be required to make the changes required in 30 days and that a patrol of five experienced firemen, by arrangement with them, be detailed to be present during all times when audiences were convened, and in default of compliance the Auditorium be closed forthwith. Plaintiff was present and addressed the council upon the matter. After some modification as to cement floor, and the time for building a wall, the report was adopted. The matter, as far as the evidence or proof offered shows, re
“ The delay in complying with the requirement of the council has not been caused by any desire on the part of the owners to delay or fail to observe reasonable requirements, but simply on account of weather conditions and inability to get the material required for the work.”
Under these conditions, the changes required by the council not having been completed, the defendant, who had gone on making the changes referred to in the agreement of August 23, 1905, relying, as he testifies, upon the promises of plaintiff made to him to complete the required changes ordered by the city authorities, went out of the building and turned the keys over to plaintiff June 19, 1906.
Upon the trial defendant offered in evidence the records of the common council of Grand Rapids to show the official action herein briefly outlined. These were objected to as hearsay and excluded. Plaintiff and defendant were the only witnesses in the case. At the close of the case plaintiff moved for an instructed verdict, which was granted by the court on the grounds:
(1) That there was no liability of the landlord for failing to show defects open to observation or reasonable investigation.
(2) That the records of the common council were not substantive proof of the facts contained in the reports, but was hearsay.
(3) That defendant was as responsible as the landlord for failure to comply with the municipal requirements by reason of the contract of August 23, 1905.
(4) That the firemen placed in the building were trespassers.
A verdict was directed for the full amount of $3,348.47.
“ Said McFadden shall cause all such changes and alterations to be made of first-class materials and workmanship in accordance with the plans and specifications to be prepared as above specified and in strict accordance with*431 the laws of the State of Michigan and the ordinances of the city of Grand Rapids. ”
These changes consisted of scenery, dressing rooms, and a fly gallery, and were put in by permission of the proper authorities, and plaintiff, when in making these changes it was discovered that the proscenium arch was a wooden truss, was notified by the authorities of that fact. He put in one of metal and tile as ordered by the authorities, and did not claim that such construction was equally obligatory upon defendant. This was the practical construction of the parties at the time. The clause in the agreement of August 23d had reference to the changes to be made by defendant therein specified, and was no undertaking on his part to conform with the orders of which he. had no knowledge. The court was in error in his construction of this agreement.
There was some evidence in the case as to the condition of this basement other than in the reports of the officers. It is stated in the testimony of defendant, and plaintiff’s letter to the council shows, that he acquiesced in all material respects, although not with any evidence of speedy completion. The first order of the council was made January 18, 1904, and when defendant surrendered the keys June 19,1906, the requirements of this order were not completed. Defendant leased and went into possession, October 1, 1904, to occupy and use the Auditorium for “a roller skating rink, theater and concert hall.” At this time plaintiff knew, and defendant did not know,
Defendant pleaded recoupment for damages. He is entitled upon his theory of this case to make proof of such damages as may be proper under the pleadings and circumstances of the case, and to recover such amount as may be found, provided it is determined that he surrendered the premises because of the default of plaintiff.
The judgment is reversed and set aside, and a new trial ordered.
Dissenting Opinion
(dissenting). Mark Norris, one of the plaintiffs, as trustee under the will of Charles Shepard, deceased, and as executor and trustee under the will of Dorinda N. Shepard, deceased, and the other plaintiff, executed to defendant, on September 6, 1904, a lease of the Auditorium, so-called, in the city of Grand Rapids, for the term of one year from and after October 1, 1904, with the privilege of renewing the same from year to year for the further period of four years; the lessee to give the lessor written notice of such renewal on or before the 1st day of May in each year.
The Auditorium was a public hall, used for public entertainments and amusements. It contained a ground floor, balcony, and stage. The basement under the Auditorium was not used in connection with it, but was rented by plaintiffs to private parties — a part to Young & Chaffee, who carried on a furniture business in an adjacent building, and used part of the basement of the Auditorium as a packing room and storing room for mattresses, furniture, etc. Another part was leased to the Grand Rapids Evening Post, and a third part to the New Era Life Insurance Company. The lease contained no covenant to repair, or
The defense is that the premises were unfit for the purposes for which they were rented; that the defendant was unable to use them; that the Auditorium had been condemned by the public authorities as unfit, unsafe, and dangerous for the purpose for which it was rented; and that these facts were concealed from the defendant. The facts upon which the defendant relies are as follows: On January 18, 1904, the building inspector and fire marshal, in accordance with a resolution of the common council, had examined the various places of amusement with a view to recommending changes for the protection of the public. They recommended that at the Auditorium there should be put in a wood stairway at the northeast corner of the building, from the sidewalk to the balcony and main floor, a stair leading from the same to the ground; that call boxes be placed in the building, and at least two lines of hose be placed on the main floor, two in the balcony and two on the stage; that all the exposed woodwork in the basement be covered with expanded metal lathing, and two coats of hard plaster; that a cement floor be put in and an automatic sprinkler system installed in the basement. This report was adopted. Mr. Norris built an exit in lieu of the stairway. He put in a double maple floor, lined with asbestos; replastered the basement on metal lath, and, discovering that there were wooden posts supporting the Auditorium floor, he took them out and put in iron columns. These were accepted by the council as sufficient. When defendant was proceeding to equip the theater under the contract of August 23, it was discovered that the present proscenium arch was a wooden truss that spanned the opening, instead of brick. This was removed and a steel truss put in its place. Mr. Norris ordered the automatic sprinkler, but the contractors would not agree to put it in within the time required, as the manufacturers of the valves could not agree to furnish them to the contractor at a specific time. The
Defendant testified as follows:
“Q. What is the reason you could not carry on the theater ?
“A. Because certain improvements had not been made that were ordered.
“Q. What improvements ?
“A. Installing the sprinkler system and hose.”
The theater season was practically over, and Mr. Norris had reported to the council that all the improvements
Defendant makes no claim that the building was defective. Every condition now complained of was open to his view. He knew the condition of the basement, or, what is equivalent in law, should have known it. He knew there was no hose in the main floor and the galleries. In other words, he saw the situation, and after his examination entered into a lease which exempted the landlord from any liability to repair, and imposed that liability upon him. In such case the rule of caveat emptor applies to a tenant. “ His eyes are his bargain.” If he desires to protect himself against the requirements of the public authorities, or against inherent and unknown defects, or against present or subsequent conditions of any
The word “demise” in the lease of a house for years “ implies a covenant for title in the estate merely; that is, of quiet enjoyment against the lessor and all that come in under him by title.” Such a lease contains no covenants against the acts of trespassers or strangers, or the requirements of public authorities having police control over the leased premises. In a leading case upon this subject, decided in 1843, the court say:
“ There is no authority for saying that these words imply a contract for any particular state of the property at the time of the demise; and there are many which clearly show that there is no implied contract that the property shall continue fit for the purpose for which it is demised.” Hart v. Windsor, 12 Mees. & W. 68.
This case is cited with approval by many of the courts of this country, and correctly states the rule. Toner v. Meussdorffer, 123 Cal. 462 (56 Pac. 39); Watson v. Almirall, 61 App. Div. (N. Y.) 429 (70 N. Y. Supp. 662); Moore v. Weber, 71 Pa. 429 (10 Am. Rep. 708); Town v. Thompson, 68 N. H. 317 (44 Atl. 492, 46 L. R. A. 748); Gallagher v. Button, 73 Conn. 172 (46 Atl. 819); Howell v. Schneider, 24 App. Cas. (D. C.) 532, and authorities there cited.
The contract of leasing contained no implication that the landlord should make changes that the common council should demand or deem expedient. The landlord had agreed to furnish nothing but the room leased in the condition in which it then was. The lessee assumed the risk
“ It is much better to leave the parties in every case to protect their interests themselves by proper stipulation, and if they really mean a lease to be void by reason of any unfitness in the subject for the purpose intended, they should express that meaning.”
Other English authorities are to the same effect, but we need not cite them. The same rule is held in the courts of the United States. Mr. Justice Gray, in Leavitt v. Fletcher, 10 Allen (Mass.), 119, said:
*440 " It is well settled that in a lease of real estate no covenant is implied that the lessor shall keep the premises in repair, or otherwise fit for occupation.”
So it is distinctly held in Jaffe v. Harteau, 56 N. Y. 398 (15 Am. Rep. 438), that, in the absence of fraud or any agreement, there is no implied warranty that the premises are tenantable or fit for the use for which they are to be leased, citing several authorities. In Keates v. Earl of Cadogan, 10 Com. B. (N. S.) 591, the declaration stated that the demised premises were at the time of letting in a ruinous and dangerous condition, and the plaintiff was without any knowledge or information upon this subject, and that the defendant, the landlord, let the house to plaintiff without informing him of its condition. Upon demurrer the court said:
“ It is not pretended that there was any warranty, express or implied, that the house was fit for immediate occupation, but it is said that, because the defendant knew that the plaintiff wanted it for immediate occupation, and knew that it was in an unfit and dangerous state, and did not disclose that fact to the plaintiff, an action of deceit will lie. The declaration does not allege that the defendant made any misrepresentation, or that he had reason to suppose that the plaintiff would not do what any man in his senses would do, viz., make proper investigation, and satisfy himself as .to the condition of the house before he entered upon the occupation of it. There is nothing amounting to deceit; it was a mere ordinary transaction of letting and hiring.”
Same holding in Bowe v. Hunking, 135 Mass. 380 (46 Am. Rep. 471); Bennett v. Sullivan, 100 Me. 118 (60 Atl. 886); Doyle v. Railway Co., 147 U. S. 413 (13 Sup. Ct. 333). The well-nigh universal rule is that, in the absence of fraud or misrepresentation, the tenant takes the property as he finds it, and assumes all risk of its being fit for the purpose for which he rents it. We will not multiply authorities.
Under the defendant’s own showing, I do not think he is entitled to recover, even if the obligation had rested upon the plaintiff to comply with the resolutions of the council. He had complied with nearly all of them. The defendant was compelled to admit that he abandoned the premises because the sprinkler plant was not installed in the basement, and because the hose were not in the main floor and the balcony of the Auditorium. These were the sole causes for complaint. He knew or might have known that the sprinkler system was nearly completed, for he had access to the building, and testified that he was there some days before the abandonment. When the common council insisted on these improvements being made, Mr. Norris used due diligence to secure them. The theatrical season was practically ended, and no serious harm would result if the sprinkler plant had not been installed immediately. He had also let a contract to put in the hose, and it was not his fault that the contract had not been complied with. The contract shows that this improvement was shortly to be made. He had suffered no loss in the past, or, if he had, his remedy was by action to recover damages. As to the future, the improvements were so nearly completed as to remove all ground for any claim to an eviction. An eviction, however, must be grounded upon the violation of some duty of the landlord, and not of strangers or trespassers. Plaintiff was not responsible for placing policemen in the hall during plays. (The record does not show how many were in the hall, or how conspicuous they were, or how often they were present; neither does it show that, patrons would understand that they were present to act in case of fire.) He did not
I think the case should be affirmed.
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