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Keywords

plaintiffdefendantverdictlease
plaintiffdefendantverdictlease

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Royce v. Guggenheim, 106 Mass. 201, 1870 WL 7078, 8 Am.Rep. 322

Facts

The plaintiff leased a small wooden house and store to the defendant for three years. After the lease was signed, the plaintiff erected a new building in the back yard, which closed the windows of two rooms that the tenant had been using as a kitchen and bedroom, making them unfit for use. The tenant abandoned the premises and refused to pay rent, claiming eviction due to the landlord's actions.

The plaintiff leased a small wooden house and store to the defendant for three years. After the lease was signed, the plaintiff erected a new building in the back yard, which closed the windows of two rooms that the tenant had been using as a kitchen and bedroom, making them unfit for use.

Issue

Did the landlord's construction of a permanent structure that rendered two rooms unfit for use constitute an eviction, allowing the tenant to abandon the premises and refuse to pay rent?

Did the landlord's construction of a permanent structure that rendered two rooms unfit for use constitute an eviction, allowing the tenant to abandon the premises and refuse to pay rent?

Rule

An eviction occurs when a landlord's actions permanently deprive a tenant of the enjoyment of the premises, and it is not necessary for there to be a physical expulsion. If a landlord's actions make a part of the premises uninhabitable, the tenant may treat it as an eviction.

An eviction occurs when a landlord's actions permanently deprive a tenant of the enjoyment of the premises, and it is not necessary for there to be a physical expulsion.

Analysis

The court applied the rule by determining that the landlord's erection of a new building without the tenant's consent resulted in the two rooms becoming entirely unfit for their intended purposes. The jury was instructed that if the landlord's actions led to the abandonment of the rooms due to their unfitness, this constituted an eviction, thus suspending the tenant's obligation to pay rent.

The court applied the rule by determining that the landlord's erection of a new building without the tenant's consent resulted in the two rooms becoming entirely unfit for their intended purposes.

Conclusion

The court upheld the jury's verdict in favor of the tenant, concluding that the landlord's actions amounted to an eviction, allowing the tenant to refuse to pay rent.

The court upheld the jury's verdict in favor of the tenant, concluding that the landlord's actions amounted to an eviction, allowing the tenant to refuse to pay rent.

Who won?

The tenant prevailed in the case because the court found that the landlord's construction rendered the premises uninhabitable, constituting an eviction.

The tenant prevailed in the case because the court found that the landlord's construction rendered the premises uninhabitable, constituting an eviction.

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