Darrow v. Keystone 5, 10, 25, $1.00 Stores, Inc.
| Decision Date | 26 June 1950 |
| Citation | 365 Pa. 123,74 A.2d 176 |
| Parties | DARROW v. KEYSTONE 5, 10, 25, $1.00 STORES, Inc. |
| Court | Pennsylvania Supreme Court |
Argued May 24, 1950
Appeal, No. 15, May T., 1950, from judgment of Court of Common Pleas of Dauphin County, March T., 1948, No. 159, in case of Ben A. Darrow et al. v. Keystone 5, 10, 25 $1.00 Stores, Inc. Judgment reversed.
Trespass for property damage.
Defendant's motion for judgment on the pleadings granted, opinion by WOODSIDE, J. Plaintiffs appealed.
Judgment reversed with a procedendo as to the claim of Ben A Darrow.
F. Brewster Wickersham , with him Huette F. Dowling and Metzger & Wickersham , for appellants.
Arthur Berman, with him Samuel Handler and Compton & Handler , for appellee.
Before DREW, C.J., STERN, STEARNE, JONES and BELL, JJ.
Ben A. Darrow and Alexander Darrow, son and father respectively, along with a third person, Dr. J. H. Moran, sued the defendant company in this one action on three separate causes, one belonging to each of the named plaintiffs, for their respective damages allegedly due to the defendant's negligence. Upon the defendant's motion for judgment against the Darrows on the pleadings, the court below entered such judgment which necessarily meant, in procedural reality, two separate judgments, one against each of the Darrows. However, they took but this one appeal, ostensible as a joint appeal, which, of course, was not possible in the circumstances. At bar, their counsel moved to discontinue as to plaintiff Alexander Darrow with leave to proceed with the appeal as the separate appeal of Ben A. Darrow. We granted the motion and heard argument on the merits of the appeal, the amount in controversy still being within our jurisdiction.
The presently material facts, as averred by the complaint, are as follows. Alexander Darrow was the lessee of the second story portion of certain premises whereof the defendant was the landlord by mesne conveyance. The defendant occupied the first floor and basement of the property. Ben A. Darrow was resident in the second floor apartment as the guest of his father, the tenant. Ben sued to recover damages for loss by fire to his personal property located in the premises demised to his father. The fire originated in the basement from the ignition of some paper cartons due to the heat generated by a burning two hundred watt electric light bulb against which the defendant had negligently piled the cartons. The defendant answered and, under new matter, set up, and attached as an exhibit, the written lease under which Alexander Darrow held the second story premises. The lease contained, inter alia, a provision that "The Lessee expressly agrees to assume all liability of accident or damage due to said occupancy." The defendant moved for judgment on the pleadings on the ground that it was not liable for any damage to property of the lessee or his guest, Ben A. Darrow, in the demised apartment.
The learned court below entered judgment for the defendant against the Darrows on the ground that the meaning of the above-quoted provision of the lease is that "the lessee expressly agrees to take upon himself the liability of the landlord for the latter's negligent action for the damages the tenant might sustain in consequence of his occupying the leased premises." With that conclusion, we do not agree. As is evident, the present problem is concerned with the interpretation of the lease provision respecting the lessee's assumption of liability in a certain contingency in relief of the landlord. It is unnecessary to suppose situations in which that provision might have become pertinent. We are confronted here with a question of liability for damages due to the defendant's own negligence; and, in no view, can the clause be thought sufficiently specific and clear to relieve the defendant from liability in...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Lebeck v. William A. Jarvis, Inc.
...apparently follow the rule laid down by the New York decisions cited in this section of the opinion. See Darrow v. Keystone, etc., Stores, Inc., 1950, 365 Pa. 123, 74 A.2d 176; Perry v. Payne, 1907, 217 Pa. 252, 66 A. 553, 11 L.R.A.,N.S., 68 In this case, the court used this language at pag......
-
Denlinger, Inc. v. Dendler
...661, 663 (1954), and the rule of construction that a written instrument is to be strictly construed against the maker, Darrow v. Keystone, 365 Pa. 123, 74 A.2d 176 (1950), our supreme court found the exculpatory clause did not protect the lessor in that particular case. Galligan, 421 Pa. at......
-
Crewe Corp. v. Feiler
...Corp. v. Motor City Paper Tube Co., 339 Mich. 602, 64 N.W.2d 577, 46 A.L.R.2d 832 (Sup.Ct.1954); Darrow v. Keystone 5, 10, 25, $1.00 Stores, Inc., 365 Pa. 123, 74 A.2d 176 (Sup.Ct.1950); 51 C.J.S. Landlord and Tenant § 232, p. 859. In Black v. General Wiper Supply Co., 305 N.Y. 386, 113 N.E......
-
Schetter v. United States
...the meaning of the lease provision, it must be construed against the lessor and in favor of the lessee. Darrow v. Keystone 5, 10, 25, $1.00 Stores, Inc., 1950, 365 Pa. 123, 74 A.2d 176; Baldwin v. McEldowney, 1936, 324 Pa. 399, 188 A. If the release clause is not to be thus limited in its i......