Bilicke v. Janss

Lease—Abandonment by Lessee—Judgment fob Rent Against Guarantor—Findings—Noxious Odors from Butcher’s Shop—Constructive Eviction not Shown.—Where judgment was rendered against a guarantor of rent, after the lessee had abandoned the leased premises for noxious odors and smoke from a shop leased to a butcher, which interfered with the enjoyment of his premises leased for a physician’s institute, a constructive eviction of the lessee, relied upon by the guarantor, cannot be maintained, notwithstanding findings that noxious odors and smoke arising from a defective flue in the butcher-shop rendered the leased premises unfit for use, where the lease sued upon imposes no duty upon the lessor to keep or maintain the leased or other premises in a fit and suitable condition for a physicians’ institute, and it was subsequent to the lease of the butcher-shop and expressly provided that the lessor should not be accountable for “any damage arising from any act or neglect of any eotenant or other occupants of the same building.”

Id.—Lease Accepted With Knowledge of Conditions.—It appearing that the room leased for a butcher-shop and meat market was in use when the lease in question was executed, the lessee thereof must be deemed to have accepted his lease with full knowledge of the conditions existing by reason of conducting such meat market and butcher-shop in close proximity to the premises so leased by him.,

Id.—Provision Against Damages—Finding of Unfitness of Leased Premises not Constituting Ouster.—In view of the express provisions of the lease as to nonaccountability of the lessor for any damages sustained by the lessee from other tenants of the building, the finding that the leased premises were rendered unfit for the purposes for which they were leased by the acts of the tenant of the butcher-shop did not of itself constitute an ouster.

Id.—Nuisance by Cotenant not an Eviction—Rent not Avoided.— The mere fact that the landlord rents premises to a tenant who carries on a business incompatible with the convenient occupation of adjoining premises, also rented by the same landlord, does not amount to an eviction, and, in the absence of a provision to that effect in the lease, does not relieve the tenant who suffers from the nuisance from the obligation of payment under his lease.

Id.—Landlord not Responsible for Tenant Smoking Meat.—The landlord was not responsible for the act of Ms tenant occupying a room for a meat and butcher-shop in smoking meat upon Ms own leased premises.

Id.—Redress of Tenant for Nuisance Against Offending Tenant.—■ If the acts of butcher tenant constituted a substantial grievance to another tenant, redress for the nuisance should have been against the offending tenant, and not against the landlord.

Ib.—Finding as to Control of Private Driveway—Nuisance.—A finding that the driveway extending under the leased premises, into which the smoke and odors from the meat-shop came, was under the control of the landlord plaintiff in this action, it appearing that such driveway was no part of the leased premises nor appurtenant thereto, can only show that as against the lessor, in the absence of any express covenant in the lease touching the subject, the lessee had no right other than to insist that the landlord should not maintain a nuisance therein, nor let the same for some business which, notwithstanding the exercise of reasonable care on the part of the tenant, would nevertheless constitute a nuisance.