City of New York v. United States

97 F. Supp. 808, 119 Ct. Cl. 769, 1951 U.S. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 52
CourtUnited States Court of Claims
DecidedJune 5, 1951
DocketNo. 49329
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 97 F. Supp. 808 (City of New York v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Court of Claims primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
City of New York v. United States, 97 F. Supp. 808, 119 Ct. Cl. 769, 1951 U.S. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 52 (cc 1951).

Opinion

JONES, Chief Judge,

delivered the opinion of the court:

On November 12,1941 the plaintiff leased to the defendant approximately 225,000 square feet of space on the City Pier in Brooklyn, New York. The agreement was in writing and provided for a term commencing November 16, 1941 and ending June 30,1942. The annual rental was to be $119,000.

This lease agreement was renewed from year to year by extensions and renewals until October 15,1946. Some slight changes were made in the property included. After November 16, 1942 the annual rental rate was $107,000. It was stipulated in the lease contract that the property was leased and the rental based on an “as is” basis. The pier was used by the defendant primarily for ordinary pier purposes and also for storage.

The premises were returned to the custody of the plaintiff on October 15,1946.

The plaintiff sues for $142,740, which it claims is the amount necessary to repair and restore the property. The defendant admits liability to the extent of $10,115.

[790]*790The evidence shows that it was the general practice of the City of New York in leasing its piers to insert in its permit contracts a provision requiring the lessee to make all repairs. However, as a general rule, the defendant, in leasing piers from plaintiff, refused to yield to this contention of the city and refused to agree to make such repairs. Neither the leases nor the renewal agreements in this case contain any provision whatever with respect to repairs during the period of occupancy by the United States.

The evidence is that at the time of the commencement of occupancy the piers and structures were in tenantable condition for the purposes for which leased, but the actual detailed physical condition of the pier, especially the under-structure, at the date of the beginning of the lease, is not shown.

The' pier was built in 1915. Its structure consisted of wooden piles, cross clamps and side-cap rangers with a concrete deck. It was supported by 6,800 wooden piles. A one-story shed having 166 overhead doors and four rolling shutter doors covered most of the deck.

The piles are generally considered good for twenty years, though they may last for a much longer period of time. It was estimated that about 25 percent of the piling under the pier had been replaced during the years after the pier was built in 1915.

About nine months prior to the time of the final ending of the lease period, engineers employed by the plaintiff completed a survey of the condition of the pier. A copy of that survey was brought up to date by simply dating the report October 4, 1946. Soon thereafter a copy was delivered to representatives of the Navy Department with the understanding that, if the condition noted in the report still obtained, it would be accepted as a condition survey. The defendant made an inspection and it was agreed by representatives of both parties that the condition of the pier as set forth in detail in such report represented the condition of the premises as of October 1946. No attempt was made at that time by the parties to determine liability for any damages. The details of that report are set put in Finding 22.

[791]*791A brief survey was made by two of defendant’s structural engineers in the early part of 1947. One of them reported that the piling was in an advanced state of rot, but he did not report as to details.

There is a conflict in the testimony as to whether or not the cost of repairs, as determined by plaintiff’s engineers, was agreed to by defendant’s representatives, the plaintiff claiming the affirmative and the defendant denying that there were any agreements as to the cost estimates set out in the report. These figures are set out in detail in Finding 27 and total $142,740. The items on which defendant admits liability are set out in Finding 28. The total of such items is $10,115.

The permit contract which was signed by the company which had this property under lease for a number of years prior to defendant’s occupancy contained the following provision:

And the said party of the second part hereby covenants and agrees that it will, at its own sole cost and expense, at all times during the continuance of this license or permit, maintain the superstructure of said wharf property and the structures thereon, including decking, sheathing, backing logs, fender system, clusters or other fender piles, vertical sheathing and mooring posts or bitts, in good and sufficient repair and condition and well painted.

This provision was not included in the lease contract signed by defendant and plaintiff in the instant case.

The plaintiff contends that under the New York law the tenant, in the absence of a covenant to the contrary, must make all repairs to the leased property, and that it was customary for tenants in New York Harbor to bear the expense of making all repairs to such structures. It cites cases which do not bear out that contention, but upon the whole seem to apply the principles laid down in Taylor’s Landlord and Tenant (7th Ed., p. 292), from which we quote:

Independently of any express agreement on the part of a tenant, and in the absence of the landlord’s undertaking to keep the premises in repair, the law imposes upon every tenant, whether for life or for years, an obligation to treat the premises in such a manner, that no substantial injury shall be done to them; and so, that [792]*792they may revert to the lessor at the end of the term, unimpaired by any willful or negligent conduct on his part. A tenant for years, or from year to year, must therefore keep the premises wind and water tight; and is bound to make fair and tenantable repairs, such as the keeping of fences in order, or replacing doors and windows that are broken, during his occupation. If it is a furnished house, he must take care of the furniture, and leave it with the linen, etc., clean and in good order. But he is not bound to rebuild premises which have accidentally become ruinous during his occupation, unless he is under a covenant to rebuild. Neither is he liable for the ordinary wear and tear of the premises; nor answerable if they are accidentally burnt down; nor bound to rebuild a fallen chimney; or replace doors and sashes worn out by time; to put a new roof on the building; or to make similar substantial and lasting repairs, such as are usually called general repairs. Nor is he bound to do painting, whitewashing, or papering, which are mere matters of ornament (unless they are necessary to preserve exposed timber from decay), even though he be under a covenant to leave the premises “in good and sufficient repair, order, and condition.”

The defendant takes the position that in the absence of an express agreement the tenant is not obligated to repair generally, his implied obligation being only to make such repairs as are necessary to keep the property in tenantable condition, but not to make more than ordinary repairs; that it does not require him to make extensive, substantial, or lasting repairs and replacements. It claims that the New York law does not apply to contracts with the Government, but that if it be held to apply, it is in fact substantially the same as the general law on that subject.

Both sides cite Suydam v. Jackson, 54 N. Y. 450.

The plaintiff quotes from page 458 the following:

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Bluebook (online)
97 F. Supp. 808, 119 Ct. Cl. 769, 1951 U.S. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 52, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/city-of-new-york-v-united-states-cc-1951.