Consolidated Laundries Corp. v. United States

121 F. Supp. 516, 128 Ct. Cl. 675, 1954 U.S. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 148
CourtUnited States Court of Claims
DecidedJune 8, 1954
DocketNo. 48802
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 121 F. Supp. 516 (Consolidated Laundries Corp. 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
Consolidated Laundries Corp. v. United States, 121 F. Supp. 516, 128 Ct. Cl. 675, 1954 U.S. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 148 (cc 1954).

Opinion

Jones, Chief Judge,

delivered the opinion, of the court:

The defendant on March 15, 1943, leased from, plaintiff' the Mayflower Laundry in New York City and used the-laundry through April 30,1946.

Plaintiff sues for alleged damage to stored equipment, the alleged cost of relocating the stored equipment, and alleged damage to the equipment in use. The total amount claimed is $169,668.45.

Defendant denies all liability and asserts that in no event, should plaintiff be permitted to recover in excess of $994.50,. which is the value of certain items of machinery which apparently were lost during the period of the storage and lease-operation.

The property was what is known in the trade as a family-style laundry and had been in operation for a considerable- . period. The defendant leased the plant including the equipment. It was stipulated in the lease contract that the Government should have the right during the existence of the-lease to make alterations, attach fixtures, erect additions,, structures or signs in or upon the leased premises, and that at the end of the lease period the Government should have-the right to remove the additional fixtures which it may have installed.

The reason for a provision of this type was that the Government desired to use the'laundry to meet military requirements. This made it necessary to change from a family to a. bulk or commercial type laundry. The plaintiff had operated the laundry on a single-shift basis. The defendant used three shifts and operated the laundry 24 hours daily*.

Attached to the lease contract was an inventory prepared jointly by plaintiff and defendant describing the condition of each piece of machinery and equipment included in the list.. -There were notations of “good”, “fair” or “poor” in connection with these items. “Poor” meant less than 60 percent of normal efficiency; “good” and “fair”-meant not exceeding" 85 and 75 percent of normal efficiency, respectively. Many of the items, being of obsolete design or primarily suitable for a family-style laundry were of no utility in defendant’s-contemplated use of the plant. It therefore removed much of this machinery from the plant and stored -it; other parts-[678]*678of the machinery were relocated within the plant. Some of the wooden accessories such as tables, bins and shelving were torn down and some of the lumber used in making sorting bins of different specifications.

The materials that were stored consisted primarily of manufactured piping, shirt and collar dryhouses, blanket and curtain dryers, shirt and garment presses, starching machines, collar machines, roller conveyors and numerous wooden accessories such as tables, bins and racks.

The plaintiff contends that in the remodeling process the defendant destroyed much property, injured other items of machinery, neglected the machinery while in storage, permitting it to rust and deteriorate, and handled the entire matter in such a way as to make the removed machinery practically useless, and that it abused the machinery that remained in such a fashion as to cause great damage thereto, all of which defendant categorically denies. Much of the testimony is conflicting, and to some extent confusing, but in going over the entire record certain facts emerge rather clearly which bear upon the numerous issues made by the plaintiff.

Before discussing the various issues that have been raised it will help to clarify these issues by calling attention to the fact that the plaintiff and defendant executed a supplemental agreement, dated January 19, 1947, by the terms of which ■defendant waived its right to remove the machinery which it had installed at its own expense in changing from a family to a commercial type laundry and which under the terms of the original lease it had a right to remove, and in return for the title to such property the plaintiff released the defendant from any and all claims or liability arising out of the entire transaction, except that the plaintiff reserved any claims resulting from damage to lessor’s machinery either by the removal of the machinery or any damage to the machinery for which the defendant might be legally liable.

This supplemental agreement narrows the issues considerably, since it removed from the items claimed any damage that may have been done to the plant or building.

There was considerable damage to the property that was removed during the period that it was in storage. The [679]*679•nature of this damage is summarized by the trial commi3-.sioner in finding 8, which we have adopted. The commissioner has concluded from the evidence presented that the -damage over and above reasonable and ordinary wear and tear to plaintiff’s machinery and equipment, not including •the washing machines, extractors and panel control board, •caused by defendant’s use or storage of the machinery, was '■$7,401. The plaintiff complains that the total damage on •this item should have been more than $53,000, while the defendant claims the damage was altogether negligible. Our •commissioner saw the witnesses face to face, and we are constrained to adopt his findings as they are reasonably supported by the evidence. We find that the value of the machinery was reduced by $7,401 on account of the excess ■damage above that attributable to ordinary wear and tear.

There were certain items of missing machinery and equipment, the reasonable market value of which is $994.50.

The reasonable cost of relocating the equipment at the original location at the termination of the lease would have been $5,550, including the reinstallation of manufactured piping and electric connections which defendant had disrupted and removed. The plaintiff claims that it is entitled to recover this amount; in fact, the plaintiff asserts that the amount should be larger. It is true that the defendant under the terms of the original lease agreement obligated itself to replace the machinery that had been removed as nearly as possible in the exact location at which it was originally found. This was not done.

There is no doubt plaintiff would be entitled to recover this amount according to the terms of the original lease contract. However, the undisputed evidence shows that defendant installed a large amount of new machinery in converting the plant; that it had the right under the original lease to remove this machinery at the end of the lease. As a consideration for the waiving of all claims against it with the exception of the damage caused to the machinery, the defendant transferred the title and ownership of all the new machinery which it had installed to the plaintiff.

Undoubtedly the plaintiff would have a right to the cost of relocating the old machinery or accepting the title and [680]*680ownership of the new machinery that had been installed. It had what is termed in baseball parlance a fielder’s choice. It chose to accept the new machinery. Having done so it waived the other claims except the additional damage to the machinery. As a matter of fact, if plaintiff had insisted on the defendant’s carrying out its original obligation it would'have been necessary to remove a large part of the newly installed machinery which would not only have been expensive, but would have interrupted the operation of the plant. Plaintiff saw fit at the end of the lease to continue operations not as a family-type but ás a commercial-type laundry. Having made its choice it certainly should not have the advantages of both without the obligations of either.

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Bluebook (online)
121 F. Supp. 516, 128 Ct. Cl. 675, 1954 U.S. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 148, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/consolidated-laundries-corp-v-united-states-cc-1954.