Majority
Headnote
[1] Landlord and Tenant—Action fob Breach of Lessor—Bight to Unused Portions of Premises—Instruction.—In an action by a lessee to recover damages for breach of certain covenants contained in a lease of a butcher-shop and adjoining slaughter-house on defendant’s farm and to enjoin interference with the use of the premises, an instruction that in the absence of a designation by the plaintiff of any part of the premises which the defendant might use or occupy, defendant would have no right to use or occupy any of the same, was without application either to the issues or the evidence, but without prejudice, where there was no showing that defendant sought to use the premises not needed by the plaintiff, or that any occasion existed for a designation.This is an appeal by the defendant, Joseph Karrer, from a judgment in favor of the plaintiff, R. C.
On February 18, 1915, the defendant executed and delivered to the plaintiff a lease of his butcher-shop and adjoining slaughter-house on his fifteen-acre farm in the town of El Cajon, San Diego County. The term of the lease was two years, commencing March 1, 1915. After bounding the premises leased the instrument proceeded further to describe the property: “together with all improvements thereon, including the butcher-shop; . . . also machinery, fixtures, tools, appliances, and appurtenances now in or used in connection with said butcher-shop or the butcher business canned on and conducted upon and about said premises; also the slaughterhouse now owned and used by said lessor in connection with the butcher business, together with sufficient corrals for all hogs, cattle and other stock; scales, runways, water, water appliances, fixtures and all personal property used in connection with said slaughter-house or said butcher business, and by the use of the word ‘sufficient’ it is understood and agreed that said lessor shall have the right to occupy and enjoy, during the term of this lease, all said property connected with said slaughter-house that he may deem essential or necessary to properly and efficiently carry on his business; but any property not used by said lessor at said slaughter-house shall remain subject to the use of said lessor.” (Italics ours.) In addition to the usual covenant of quiet enjoyment the lease contained this provision: “It is further agreed that during the existence of this lease, said lessor will not personally, or by or through any agent or representative, carry on the butcher business in or about the El Cajon Valley, and that he will not do, take or perform any act or thing that would tend to lessen the business of said lessee in connection with the property hereby leased.”
The complaint alleged that through the mutual 'mistake of the parties the word “lessor” was used, as indicated by our italics, in that portion of the lease first above quoted instead of the word “lessee,” as they intended; that the defendant had breached the covenant of quiet enjoyment by refusing to allow plaintiff to use a barn, situated on the premises and connected with the slaughter-house, or the cooling-room in the said slaughter-house, or to bury offal on
1. To quote from appellant’s brief, “it is conceded that the defendant at times acted in excess of his legal rights,” but the contention is made “that the plaintiff was permitted by the trial court to prove his case to the jury in utter disregard of the rules of evidence, and that the court, in its rulings and instructions, so misinterpreted the issues and the law relating thereto, that the defendant was prevented from having even a semblance of a fair trial.” Appellant’s first assignment of error is to the giving of this instruction: “13. In the absence of a designation by the plaintiff of any part of the leased premises which the defendant might use
[1] Respondent does not claim that appellant was not entitled to use any portion of the premises which he (respondent) should not require, whether or not the latter has designated such unused portion. Instruction 13, therefore, has no application either to the issues or to the evidence and should not have been given. But we do not perceive how the giving of the instruction could have injuriously affected appellant’s case before the jury. It does not appear that appellant sought to use the premises not needed by respondent, or that there was any occasion for respondent to designate such portion. The point in dispute was whether appellant interfered with respondent with respect to the portion actually used. This being the only question before the jury, the vice of the instruction was limited to the injection of a false quantity, which we cannot conceive entered
[2] 2. We shall next consider appellant’s contention that the court erred in holding that the use of appellant’s barn was included in the lease. This position is not tenable. ■Those portions of the lease which we have already quoted state that “it is understood and agreed that said lessee shall have the right to occupy and enjoy ... all said property connected with said slaughter-house that, he may deem essential or necessary to properly and efficiently carry on his business.” (Italics ours.) The term “all said property” referred, we think, not only to the chattels listed in the instrument, but to the entire realty “together with all improvements thereon, . . . commencing at the east side of the said butcher-shop, and running thence westerly to the west edge of the property owned by said lessor,” as the premises are described in the lease. Moreover, it appears that appellant had used the bam in conducting the butcher business; it was,, therefore, a part of the property which was “connected with said slaughter-house.” It may be assumed there was no question but that respondent deemed it necessary to use the barn. Appellant’s contention is, therefore, without merit.
[3] 3. W. B. Jones, a butcher who had formerly been in appellant’s employ, and a witness for the respondent, testified that appellant made a profit of four dollars or five dollars on each of the hogs which he sold at wholesale. Appellant objected that the question was incompetent, irrelevant, and immaterial, the objection was overruled, and the ruling is assigned as error. Upon the issue as to the damages caused to respondent’s business by the alleged interference by appellant with respondent’s use of the leased premises in that business, and upon the issue as to the damages to respondent’s business by reason of appellant’s rival business in the same line, this evidence was both relevant and competent. It tended in some degree to show the value of the business and the loss to respondent that would probably ensue from appellant’s interference and rivalry. The testimony of the witness showed that he was sufficiently familiar with the business to be competent to testify to the profit to be made on each hog.
[5] 5. We shall next consider appellant’s contention that the court erred in refusing to allow C. M. Kuhlker, a witness for respondent, and William Funk, called by appellant, both butchers, to testify “whether the buying and fattening of hogs was any part of the butcher business.” As we have pointed out, the lease contained the covenant that appellant would not carry on the butcher business during the term of the lease. Respondent claims that appellant had carried on such business. It was therefore material to show what that business embraced. [6] But, conceding there was error in excluding this evidence, it seems plain that appellant was not prejudiced thereby. The property covered by the lease included the slaughter-house, “together with sufficient corrals for all hogs, cattle, and other stock.” (Italics ours.) James E. Wadham, the attorney who prepared and supervised the execution of the lease, testified that respondent was to have the use of any or all of the corrals for his livestock; and that prior to the lease appellant had conducted the butcher business on these premises and had raised and fattened hogs for market. Respondent testified that at the time of the execution of the lease appellant had indicated to him a field where he (respondent) could keep his hogs; that appellant had formerly engaged in the raising and fattening of hogs while he carried on the butcher business; and that when the lease was entered into appellant had asked him whether he could have the use of part of the hog corrals for raising his hogs. Fay and Jones testified that prior to the lease the appellant, in the conduct of his butcher business, had raised and fattened his hogs for market, and appellant himself admitted that “since Mr. Schumann leased the place I have been using these fields for my hog business just as I did before.” (Italics ours.) It is not controverted that for some time before the execution of the lease appellant had conducted the butcher business on the premises, including the raising of hogs. In view of this testimony, and the implied finding of the jury, it must be held that the parties clearly intended that the business which respondent was to carry on should include the fattening of hogs for market.
[8] 6. Miles Fay testified that at the time of the lease and thereafter he was using the premises to raise hogs under an “arrangement” with appellant. He further stated that respondent did not engage in the raising of sows and pigs, and was then asked, “Do you know why?” To this appellant objected that it was immaterial, but the objection was overruled, and the witness answered, “Why, simply because he didn’t have room enough.” The appellant moved “that the answer be stricken out as a conclusion and not testimony as to a fact,” whereupon the motion was denied, and the ruling is now assigned as error. In strictness, it may be said the question only called for a categorical reply and appellant was not precluded from moving to strike out a complete answer to the question. But Jones, without objection by appellant, gave testimony of similar import, and upon no theory was the ruling, prejudicial.
7. Respondent testified that appellant had locked, and refused to allow him to use, the cooling-room on the premises, by reason of which he had suffered damages because of his meat becoming “fly-blown.” On cross-examination he was asked, “After your mother came back, did she not have a conversation with Mr. Karrer regarding this difficulty, and as a result of that did not Mr. Karrer open that cooling-house door . . . and told you and your mother that you were at liberty to use it?” Respondent objected to the question on the ground that it was not “cross-examination and calling for a conclusion of the witness,”- and the objection was sustained. Appellant contends that this ruling was erroneous Appellant himself later testified that “at Christmas-time Mr. Schumann’s mother came down to the slaughter-house and the tank-house door was mentioned. She asked me to open the door, and I told Mr. Schumann that the door was
8. The loss on account of meat becoming ‘‘fly-blown” was due, according to respondent’s testimony, to the fact that the "screen-room” in which he kept the meat after having been excluded from the cooling-room was not as dark as the cooling-room and admitted flies. The court sustained respondent’s objections to these questions, put to respondent on cross-examination, whether he could not have made the "screen-room” as dark as the cooling-room by putting up "some cheap black cloth”; and whether he could not have accomplished the same result and minimized his loss from "fly-blown” meat "at a very slight expense.” Appellant now claims that the objections should have been overruled, for the reason that the answers thereto would have tended to show that respondent did not "use all reasonable means to arrest his loss,” citing 13 Cyc. 71. Even if it be assumed that this evidence should have been admitted, nevertheless when respondent was subsequently asked what measures he took "to provide a fly-proof, dark place,” no objection was made, and the witness answered the question. He further testified: "I don’t believe that I could at slight expense have made that screen-room as good a place to keep meat . . . because of the flies and the ventilation.” It cannot be said that appellant was prejudiced by the error, if any there was, in the rulings complained of.
9. For the purpose of minimizing any damage to which respondent might be entitled by reason of being unable to raise hogs for the market, appellant testified as to the cost of killing, dressing, and delivering them. Appellant claims that the court erred in refusing to allow him to state how much time it took to deliver the hogs which he sold. He had previously testified, however, that it cost twelve cents per hundred to haul them to market. This estimate of cost undoubtedly took into account the time consumed in delivery.
10. Funk testified that for ten years he had used an old slaughter-house (not the one leased by appellant to respondent for that purpose) on the premises. To quote appellant’s brief, "it was sought to show by him that the old slaughterhouse had no cooling-room and no facilities for keeping flies
11. We now turn to a discussion of appellant’s contention that the first four items of the special verdict are “unsupported by the evidence.” As to the item of fifty dollars damages sustained “by reason of loss of bones,” the complaint alleged that the appellant “has, without plaintiff’s knowledge or consent, taken away and converted to his own use bones belonging to said plaintiff. ’ ’ Appellant admitted: “I may have sold some of Schumann’s bones.” Jones testified that dry bones were worth about twenty dollars per ton. We think the evidence was clearly sufficient to sustain this portion of the verdict.
As to the item of ninety dollars “by reason of loss of hay,” Jones further testified that appellant’s hogs had destroyed “between five and six tons” of hay, which was at that time worth about fifteen dollars per ton. From this the jury was justified in finding that respondent had been damaged in the sum of ninety dollars.
Respondent testified that he had weighed the meat which he had lost through its being “fly-blown”; that “it averaged about ten pounds a day,” for 360 days; and that he had kept a memorandum which showed a loss from that source of $946. The jury found that the respondent had been damaged “by reason of loss of meat from ‘fly-blow’ ” in the sum of eight hundred dollars, and in our opinion this finding is supported by the evidence.
The fourth special finding of the jury was that respondent had suffered damages “by reason of defendant’s interference with plaintiff’s workmen” in the sum of one thousand dollars. Jones testified that appellant had hindered him in the use of the slaughter-house and had nailed up the cooling-room; and that appellant had refused to allow him to use the hog corrals, because of which the witness was forced to
12. Appellant next assigns error to the refusal of the trial court to give fourteen instructions which he had requested. Assuming that the claim is properly presented in the brief, it is based upon his assignments of error in the rulings on evidence, and, since we have already disposed of those contentions, it will be unnecessary to discuss this point.
13. Finally, it is contended that the court erred in giving twelve instructions. While it may be true that certain instructions, considered separately, do not contain complete statements of the law, we nevertheless find from an examination of the entire charge that any such omissions appear to have been supplied. For instance, appellant makes specific objection to instruction 7, wherein the jury were told that appellant was liable “for all damage on account of such breach or interference by the defendant with the . . . quiet enjoyment of the plaintiff.” (Italics ours.) It is claimed that herein the court “ignored the qualification that only such damages are recoverable as were proximate.” But instruction 32 stated that the plaintiff must show that his loss “was the natural and proximate consequence of the wrongful acts complained of.” We think the charge gave to the jury a fair and accurate statement of the law of the case.
It is plain from the foregoing that there is no foundation for the claim that he defendant was prevented from hav
The judgment is affirmed.
Olney, J., Shaw, J., Angellotti, C. J., and Lennon, J., concurred.
Cases cited
- Lambert v. Haskell 80 Cal. 611 p. 56
- Hawthorne v. Siegel 88 Cal. 159 p. 56
- Bryson v. McCone 121 Cal. 153 p. 56
- Alden v. Mayfield 164 Cal. 6 at 13 p. 56
- Hamer v. Ellis 40 Cal. App. 57 p. 56
- Shoemaker v. Acker 116 Cal. 239 at 244 p. 56
- United States v. Behan 28 L. Ed. 168 p. 57
- Rice v. Whitmore 74 Cal. 619 p. 57
- Hale v. Trout 35 Cal. 229 p. 57
- Pacific Steam Whaling Co. v. Alaska Packers' Ass'n 138 Cal. 632 at 638 p. 57
- McConnell v. Corona City Water Co. 149 Cal. 60 at 65 p. 57
- Fraser v. Bentel 161 Cal. 390 at 396 p. 57
- Western Union Telegraph Co. v. Commercial Pacific Cable Co. 177 Cal. 577 at 585 p. 57