McLean v. Nolan
McLean v. Nolan
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the Court:
It is urged that the lease, being recorded, was constructive notice of the limitation. A lease is not required to be recorded by the registration laws of the District of Columbia. Without stopping to consider whether the recording of a lease in this District imparts constructive notice, the recording of the present lease is of little importance in view of the record before us. Tbe lease called for an expenditure of $25,000. This amount was increased by a subsequent agreement between tbe lessors and lessee to $33,000, of which change no record was made. It does not appear that tbe contractors bad notice of any limitation whatever, but they bad notice that they were doing extra work which Leetcb was approving. If plaintiffs, therefore, bad notice of tbe recorded limitation of $25,000, tbe unrecorded increase of tbe amount and tbe action of Leetch in approving and paying for work in excess of that amount waived any advantage that might have arisen from notice of tbe original limitation. Plaintiffs were assured by Leetcb that tbe contracts with Henderson would be honored and paid. Tbe court below, referring to this state of facts, said: “If, after ascertaining that Leetcb bad exhausted tbe $25,000, they ascertained be was paying for extra work and material, tbe effect of any constructive notice imposed by tbe recorded deed, as a limitation upon Leetch’s authority, would be entirely nullified.” -
Tbe contention that plaintiffs were subcontractors is con-' clusively answered in tbe opinion of tbe trial justice, as follows: “It is contended on behalf of the- owners of tbe property that plaintiffs are subcontractors and come within tbe terms of sec. 1239 of tbe Code, and thus are limited to tbe amount to become due to tbe original contractor, — in this case $33,000. But if they were subcontractors, who was tbe original contractor? Certainly not Taylor, who bad not assumed to make tbe im
The attempt to invoke the rule that improvements by a lessee cannot be charged against the interest of the lessor is also without merit. Taylor did not contract to make the improvements, nor does the evidence disclose that he assumed responsibility for them. The agreement was “that the lessors shall expend, or shall cause to be expended, a sum not to exceed $25,000 on improvements and repairs,” the amount being later increased to $33,000. Henderson was placed there to supervise the work by both parties. That he was the agent of defendants is clear from the testimony. Leetch stood in the shoes of defendants, and any recognition of Henderson’s authority to superintend the work by Leetch was recognition by defendants. That plaintiffs were justified in relying upon the full authority of Henderson to make contracts for labor and materials on behalf of defendants, subject to the approval of Leetch, is well established. “Agents are special, general, or universal. Where written evidence of their appointment is not required, it may be implied from circumstances. These circumstances are the acts of the agent and their recognition or acquiescence by the principal. The same considerations fix the category of the agency and the limits of the authority conferred. Where one, without objection, suffers another to do acts which proceed upon the ground of authority from him, or by his conduct adopts and sanctions such acts after they are done, he will be bound, although no previous authority exist, in all respects as if the requisite power had been given in the most formal manner. If he has justified the belief of a third party that the person assuming to be his agent was authorized to do what was done, it is no answer for him to say that no authority had been given, or
In any view of this case, defendants are liable. The decree is therefore affirmed with costs. Affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- McLEAN v. NOLAN
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- Principal and Agent; Recordation op Instruments; Notice; Estoppel; Mechanics’ Liens; Landlord and Tenant; Contractors. 1. Even if a recorded lease which provides that the lessor shall expend a specified sum for improvements of the leased premises is constructive notice to parties furnishing labor and materials in making the improvements, of the limitation of the sum so to be expended, the fact that after the making and recording of the lease the owners through their agent agree to expend a greater sum, of which increase no record is made, and also have notice through their agent that the contractors and materialmen are furnishing extra work and material, will nullify the effect of any such constructive notice as a limitation of the agents’ authority. 2. Where the landlord agreed to make specified improvements of the premises leased, and his agent and the tenant selected a superintendent of the work of improvement who received estimates for the work from separate contractors and materialmen, which were approved and accepted by the agent of the landlord, and thereafter vouchers for the work and materials were submitted by the superintendent to such agent and paid by Mm, the superintendent is to be deemed the agent of the landlord, and parties doing the work and furnishing the materials are not subcontractors, but are contractors within the meaning of secs. 1237 and 1239, D. C. Code (31 Stat. at L. 1384, chap. 854) relating to mechanics’ liens.