Callister v. Spencer

196 P.2d 714, 113 Utah 497, 1948 Utah LEXIS 106
CourtUtah Supreme Court
DecidedJuly 7, 1948
DocketNo. 7117.
StatusPublished

This text of 196 P.2d 714 (Callister v. Spencer) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Utah Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Callister v. Spencer, 196 P.2d 714, 113 Utah 497, 1948 Utah LEXIS 106 (Utah 1948).

Opinion

WADE, Justice.

A. Cyril Callister brought an action for unlawful detainer and from a judgment in his favor, Rex I. Spencer appeals. The appeal is brought here in the judgment roll and a stipulated bill of exceptions.

The complaint alleged among other averments that the plaintiff, who is the respondent herein, is the owner of the premises sought to be repossessed and that appellant herein occupied said premises as a tenant on a month to month basis; that the premises consists of a large single family dwelling house located in a residential zoning district and was rented to appellant for the sole purpose and use of a single family dwelling house; that defendant has been conducting a commercial business on the premises, namely the renting of rooms for profit, and that such use was harmful to the premises; that appellant also violated the terms of tenancy by conducting during the month of December the business of selling Christmas trees, which business was detrimental to the premises; that a notice was served on appellant advising him that he was violating substantial obligations of his tenancy in that he was renting rooms for profit and was selling Christmas trees and in the event he failed to discontinue those practices, his month to month tenancy would terminate. The notice further stated that it was based on Sec. 6(a) 3 of the Office of Price Administration’s rent regulations for housing and that a copy *499 of said notice was given to the Salt Lake Area Rent Office of the Office of Price Administration within twenty-four hours after service upon appellant. (Hereafter in this opinion, we shall refer to the Office of Price Administration as the OPA.)

A demurrer was filed to this complaint which was overruled by the court whereupon an answer was filed denying that the tenancy was on a month to month basis and alleging that the tenancy was on a yearly basis on a written lease and that the dwelling was rented for the express purpose of using as a rooming house which plaintiff well knew. Plaintiff replied to this answer by denying that defendant had a written lease which was in force and effect and denying that the premises were rented for the express purpose of being used as a rooming house. On these pleadings, at the commencement of the trial, defendant, appellant herein, moved for a judgment on the pleadings on the ground that the “notice to quit” which had been served was not in the alternative ; that is, that the violation must cease or the tenancy be vacated as required by Sec. 6 (a) 3 of the OPA regulation and by Sec. 104-60-3(5), U. C. A. 1943. The court refused to grant this motion, and this is assigned as one of the errors.

The notice served reads as follows:

“You are hereby notified that you are violating substantial obligations of your tenancy at 559 East South Temple, Salt Lake City, Utah, in the following particulars:
“1. In that you are conducting on the premises a commercial business, to wit, the renting of rooms for profit; and,
“2. In that you are conducting on said premises the business of selling Christmas trees;
“3. That the aforementioned violations are detrimental to the premises and are causing more than ordinary wear and tear on the premises, and in particular, are causing damage to the yard of said premises.
“You are notified that each of the foregoing practices constitutes a violation of a substantial obligation of your tenancy, and that you must discontinue all of said practices.
“You are further notified that in the event of your failure to discontinue said practices your monthly tenancy of said premises will *500 cease on the 31st day of January, 1947, and that in the event of your failure to so discontinue the practices and surrender possession on or before the above mentioned date, the undersigned will commence an action against you for the restitution of said premises together with treble damages.
“This notice is based upon Sec. 6(a) 3, of the Office of Price Administration’s rent regulations for housing.
“Dated this 10th day of December, 1946.”

This notice plainly told appellant that he must desist from the objectionable practices by a certain date and that if on or before that date he failed to desist from such practices and had not surrendered the premises an action would be commenced for the restitution of those premises. He was not told that he must desist from the practices and surrender the premises by a certain date. He was told that he must desist from the practices by a certain date and it was implicit in this direction that if he did desist he could remain in the premises, but if he did not desist, he must surrender the possession of the premises on or before that date in order to avoid a suit for restitution. A notice need not state in so many words that you must do a certain' thing or do something else, if you wish to avoid certain consequences, if it is plain without the use of the word “or” that such is the meaning and intent of the notice. The court therefore did not err in refusing to grant the motion for judgment on the pleadings.

The appellant next argues that the court erred in refusing to require proof that the action was within the housing regulations and in failing to make proposed findings of fact - and conclusions of law on the issues of compliance with the Housing regulation of the OPA.

The attorneys for both parties stipulated that the following statement should comprise the bill of exceptions:

“In support of defendant’s motion for judgment on the pleadings made at the commencement of the trial, defendant’s counsel read from, and the court took judicial notice of, document entitled, ‘Housing with Schedule A. inch amdts., 1-104, Oct. 15, 1946, document No. 58272 of the Office of Price Administration’ said document being the *501 regulation for housing of the Office of Price Administration in effect •on the date of the trial, market Exhibit A, attached hereto and by this reference made a part hereof.
“At the trial the defendant asked the court to take judicial notice of' said exhibit A, which the court did, but ruled it immaterial and irrelevant to the controversy before the court, and refused to hear offered testimony relating to compliance with, or failure to comply with the requirements of said exhibit A.”

It is not clear from the record just what the nature and scope of the proffered evidence was. The stipulation above quoted is somewhat indefinite on that point. There are also some statements of the court which we are not sure are properly before us, and the fact that no findings of fact were made on certain issues which were made by the pleadings. These questions should have been fully developed in the record so the nature of the error complained of would fully appear.

The complaint alleged among other things that defendant had violated substantial obligations of his rental agreement. Such an allegation is not necessary in an unlawful detainer action in our state, since on a month to month tenancy the owner can recover the property on a-15 day notice.

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Bluebook (online)
196 P.2d 714, 113 Utah 497, 1948 Utah LEXIS 106, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/callister-v-spencer-utah-1948.