Keiper v. Klein

51 Ind. 316
CourtIndiana Supreme Court
DecidedNovember 15, 1875
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 51 Ind. 316 (Keiper v. Klein) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Keiper v. Klein, 51 Ind. 316 (Ind. 1875).

Opinion

Biddle, C. J.

John Taylor was the owner in fee of lot forty-five in the city of Lafayette. It fronted north on Main street, and east on Third. He erected six store-rooms upon [317]*317it, as per a diagram in the record. Those marked D, E, F, G, fronted Third street, running back seventy-three feet, G being upon the corner of said streets. The building-marked A fronted Main street, running back fifty-five feet; but this property includes still eleven feet south of the building, a vacant space marked B.

It is alleged that the plaintiff Mary Ann Keiper is the ■owner of the building A and the strip B; and that David A. Klein is the owner of store-room D, running back to the party wall dividing it from the strip B, and the building A. Both parties derive title from John Taylor; the complaint, however, does not inform us which of the two is the older title; but counsel on both sides, in their briefs, assume that the conveyance to Klein was made before Mary Ann received her title. We shall therefore-treat Klein’s as the senior title, and Mary Ann’s as the junior. A portion of store-room D, at the west end, was constructed only one story high, with a sky-light in the roof; afterwards Taylor, before he conveyed to Klein, cut a window in the west end, which overlooks, and derives its light and air from, the vacant space B. The right to so derive the light and air is claimed by Klein, who desires to continue it; the right is denied by Mary Ann, who is desirous to extend her building south, and thus occupy space B, and consequently close the window in the west end •of Klein’s store-room D. Hence this suit is brought, to clear ■off the cloud created by the claim of Klein, which, as it is alleged, hangs over the property A and B, and to quiet the title in Mary Ann.

The complaint contains three paragraphs. Separate demurrers were filed by the defendants to each one, for the alleged want of facts, and for a misjoinder of parties defendants. The-plaintiffs withdrew the third paragraph, leaving only the first and second to be considered, to which the court sustained the demurrers, and rendered judgment for the appellees. Exception and appeal were properly taken.

We do not particularly state the complaint, because we think if the principle contended for by the appellants is with [318]*318them, the facts are sufficiently alleged to bring the case within the law; if the law is against them, of course the complaint must be held insufficient, whatever it may allege. Nor do we see, according to the allegations, any misjoinder of parties defendants.

The deed from Taylor to Klein, for store-room D, complies with the statutory form, but does not contain the words “appurtenances” and “hereditaments,” or either of them. It is contended by the appellants, that the deed, in the absence of these words, does not carry the easement of light and air with the title, but conveys only the actual land.

"We are of the opinion, however, that our statutory deed was intended, in a short and convenient form, to take the place of the longer and more formal common-law deed, and convey the land, “with the appurtenances and hereditaments” to the grantee, “his heirs and assigns,” with covenants of seisin and warranty, as fully as if these woi’ds and the full covenants were written in the deed.

It has never been necessary for us to fully decide this point before, but there are several decisions of this court going so far in that direction as to warrant üs in giving this construction to the short form of deed authorized by statute and now so generally in use. 1 G. & H. 260, sec. 12; Neilson v. Lagow, 4 Ind. 607; Carver v. Louthain, 38 Ind. 530; Coleman v. Lyman, 42 Ind. 289.

The main question in the case is : Does the deed of John Taylor convey to David A. Klein, with store-room D, the easement of light and air to his west window, over and along space B, owned by Mary Ann Keiper?

The English decisions are not uniform upon this subject, nor always consistent with themselves. The same may be said of American decisions; yet there is a manifest difference between the two lines of authority. The English doctrine of prescriptive right to ancient windows was never received in America; indeed, it was sometimes stoutly denied in England, as early as the reign of Elizabeth (Bury v. Pope, 1 Cro. Eliz. 118), and under Charles II. (Palmer v. [319]*319Fletcher, 1 Lev. 122). It was always modified by the custom of London, and more recently by the act of William IV., c. 71, s. 3, and the'tendency of English decisions.

In America, while the common, law as a system was adopted generally, yet such parts of it as were inconsistent with our institutions or not adapted to the condition of the country were never in force.

The question before us has never been settled in this State. In New York (Myers v. Gemmel, 10 Barb. 537), it was held, where an owner of two adjoining lots in the city of New York, upon one of which was a building deriving its light and air over and through an open space in the rear of the other lot, into and over which the windows of the building opened and looked, leased the building and lot upon which it was erected for a term of years, with its appurtenances, without reserving the right to build on such other lot, or stop or darken the windows of the building leased, and after-wards built a house, covering the whole open space of'the other lot, darkening the windows and excluding the light and air from the tenants occupying the building leased, that such an act was not in derogation of his own grant. This case is remarkably analogous to the one we are considering, except that it was a conveyance by lease, instead of bargain and sale, and we cannot perceive that such a distinction can make any difference in principle between the two cases. And similar to this case, in principle, is Johnson v. Jordan, 2 Met. 234, wherein it was held to require a user, adverse, peaceable, continued, and uninterrupted, during a period of twenty years, to maintain the easement of a drain through an adjoining lot, unless it was expressly granted in the deed.

In Collier v. Pierce, 7 Gray, 18, it was held that a general deed did not, by an implied grant, convey a right to light amj air across an adjoining lot, where the vendor owned both lots at the time the conveyance was made.

It is claimed, however, by the appellees, that this case is distinguishable from the others cited, by the fact that both [320]*320lots were sold at auction on the same day; but the court deciding the case makes no such distinction, and we can see no difference between a public and private sale, if made by the vendor, as affecting the construction of the conveyance after it is made.

In Pennsylvania, it is held, that in the sale of a house and lot, no easement for light and air can be implied from the character of the improvements on the lot sold and the adjoining lot. Haverstick v. Sipe, 33 Penn. St. 368. The case of Morrison v. Marquardt, 24 Iowa, 35, is to the same effect.

Dillon, C. J., in delivering the opinion of the court, says:

“ We

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Bluebook (online)
51 Ind. 316, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/keiper-v-klein-ind-1875.