Harlow v. Jaseph

149 N.W. 1047, 183 Mich. 500, 1914 Mich. LEXIS 711
CourtMichigan Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 19, 1914
DocketDocket No. 92
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 149 N.W. 1047 (Harlow v. Jaseph) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Michigan Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Harlow v. Jaseph, 149 N.W. 1047, 183 Mich. 500, 1914 Mich. LEXIS 711 (Mich. 1914).

Opinion

Stone, J.

This is an action of assumpsit brought to recover of defendant the amount of rent of a certain store building containing a stock of goods sold by plaintiff to defendant, which rent the plaintiff claims defendant had agreed to assume and pay, and save harmless the said plaintiff on his covenant to pay rent in a certain lease. Defendant having refused to pay such rent, the same was paid by the plaintiff, who brings this action to recover the amount so paid. The history of the dealings of the parties was as follows:

On January 15, 1913, the plaintiff owned and possessed a stock of sporting goods contained in a store located at 122 West Main street, Kalamazoo. He held the premises under a written lease from the Home Savings Bank of that city. The said bank [502]*502held the store under another lease from Anna E. and John B. Doyle. The lease from the bank to the plaintiff contained the following clause:

“This lease is made subject to the Home Savings Bank lease of said property, a copy of which is hereto attached.”

The lease from the Doyles to the bank contained the following clause:

“And it is agreed by the. parties hereto that said second party will not assign or transfer this lease or sublet said premises or any part thereof, without the written assent of said party of the first part, except for office or desk room.”

There was a written consent by the Doyles to the sublease from the bank to the plaintiff. Neither the Doyles nor the bank ever signed a consent for the defendant to occupy the store. The defendant owned a farm of 160 acres, 20 acres of it, however, was a wood lot, and did not adjoin the other property, but was a considerable distance therefrom. After some preliminary negotiations, the parties agreed to trade the stock of goods for the 160-acre farm; the plaintiff claiming that defendant agreed to take over the lease of the store. The plaintiff was to give defendant a mortgage back of $3,200 on the farm. The defendant and his wife executed a deed of the farm to the plaintiff, and the latter executed a bill of sale of the stock of goods to the defendant, and plaintiff and his wife executed the mortgage back to the defendant. The defendant claims that the bill of sale was not read over or delivered to him. It appears that the bill of sale was left with Mr. Frost, the attorney who drew the papers for the parties, and that a copy thereof was delivered to • the plaintiff. The bill of sale contained the following clause:

“Said party of the second part is to assume and save harmless the party of the first part from the covenants [503]*503of the lease entered into between himself and the Home Savings Bank.”

Attached to the plea of the general issue was a notice to the effect that the defendant would show on the trial that the above clause was inserted in said contract without the knowledge of the defendant; that he did not know it was there; that he never agreed to said clause verbally or in writing, and never intended to; and that said clause was without consideration and void, for the reason that said plaintiff never had any lease with the Home Savings Bank which he could legally transfer to defendant, and no lease or contract under which he could legally sublet the whole or any part of said store. Whether or not defendant did agree to assume the covenant of the lease, and save harmless the plaintiff, was a disputed question upon the trial. It did appear that neither the lease nor a' copy thereof, from the Doyles to the bank, was attached to the plaintiff’s lease, nor was the same shown to defendant. Mr. Frost prepared an assignment to defendant of the plaintiff’s lease, which was signed by the latter.

Defendant took possession of the stock of goods and store on January 16, 1913, and retained possession until February 20, 1913, when he sold the stock to one Maxwell. By the terms of the bill of sale the plaintiff was to pay the rent to January 16th. The rent was $115 a month. In settling with the bank for the rent the plaintiff gave his cheek for $57.50, one-half month, and defendant turned it over to the bank, and settled the month’s rent. Defendant claims that Mr. Frost was the agent of both parties in drawing the papers. The bill of sale, and copy of plaintiff’s lease with the Home Savings Bank with the assignment thereon were left with Mr. Frost, and there was evidence that the latter, acting for the defendant, went to see the president of the bank with [504]*504reference to obtaining the bank’s consent to an assignment of the lease, and that such consent was refused, unless the owners of the building would consent. The defendant was never disturbed in his possession of the store, and he paid the rent of the store up to the time of the sale to Maxwell.

Within a few days after the transaction of January 15, 1913, Mr. Frost discovered that there was a mistake in the description of the premises contained in the deed, and he immediately notified the defendant to come to his office, and he came very soon thereafter, and at that time Mr. Frost and defendant had some talk with reference to the lease, and the defendant then disclaimed anv agreement to take over the lease. Mr. Frost then advised him not to sign the deed correcting the mistake. Defendant himself testified that he learned about the provision concerning the lease and what was contained in the bill of sale within a day or two after January 15th, and that Frost advised him not to sign the deed then. After he learned of this bill of sale and the provisions contained in it, and on the 14th day of February, 1913, he executed a deed to correct the description contained in the deed of January 15th, and continued in possession of the. store until the 20th day of February, 1913, when he sold- the stock to Maxwell, who continued to occupy the store until about the 22d of May, when the key was returned to plaintiff. Subsequent to that date plaintiff was called upon by the bank to pay the rent, which he did, and this suit was brought to recover from the defendant for the rent so paid by plaintiff. If the plaintiff is entitled to recover, there is no dispute that the amount of the verdict is correct.

The testimony of the circumstances relating to the correction of the deed is uncontradicted, and is very significant. Upon that subject Mr. Frost testified as follows:

[505]*505“Q. Now, Mr. Frost, I want to ask you about that deed and mortgage. You said something about the description in the deed; did you afterwards discover that there was an error in the description?
“A. Yes, I did, Mr. Jackson, as I remember it now. After the deed had left my possession I got to thinking about the description to myself, and I thought that can’t be right, there isn’t 160 acres, so I came up to the register of deeds’ office myself, and went and looked at the deed and found it wasn’t correct, and 1 at once notified Mr. Jaseph and Mr. Harlow both, I think, by telephone, that I had made a mistake in the description of the deed, and then I drafted another deed with the proper description, and telephoned Mr. Jaseph to come down, he and his wife, and sign the other deed.
“Q. How long was it after this deed was given before you made this discovery?
“A. Right off. * * *
“Q. How long after that was it before you got the deed from Mr.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
149 N.W. 1047, 183 Mich. 500, 1914 Mich. LEXIS 711, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/harlow-v-jaseph-mich-1914.