Killian v. Welfare Engineering Co.

66 N.E.2d 305, 328 Ill. App. 375, 1946 Ill. App. LEXIS 266
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedMarch 8, 1946
DocketGen. No. 10,060
StatusPublished
Cited by19 cases

This text of 66 N.E.2d 305 (Killian v. Welfare Engineering Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Killian v. Welfare Engineering Co., 66 N.E.2d 305, 328 Ill. App. 375, 1946 Ill. App. LEXIS 266 (Ill. Ct. App. 1946).

Opinion

Mr. Justice Bristow

delivered the opinion of the court.

This is an appeal by the defendant, Welfare Engineering Company, a corporation, from an order of the circuit court allowing a motion for summary judgment made by plaintiffs, Thomas J. Killian and Ethel M. Killian, in an action of forcible detainer.

Inasmuch as this appeal is solely on the pleadings and affidavits, this court is impelled to give close attention to the allegations set forth therein.

The complaint consists of four counts, and alleges, in substance, that on January 6, 1937, the trustees for the unsecured creditors of the First National Bank of Waukegan, Illinois were the owners of the following described premises situated in the City of Waukegan, County of Lake, and State of Illinois:

That part of Lot 7 in Block 14 in Original Town of Little Fort (now City of Waukegan) described as follows: Beginning at the South West corner of said' Block 14 and running thence Northerly along the West line of said Block to the North West corner of said-Lot 7; thence East on the North line of said Lot 101 feet; thence South Westerly on a straight line to a point in the South line of said lot 76.33 feet East of the South West corner thereof; thence West on the South line of said lot 76.33 feet to the place of beginning;

said premises were at all times herein mentioned improved with a two story building and known as ^ 42-Madison St., Waukegan, Illinois.

The complaint further alleges that on the above-mentioned date, the said trustees entered into a lease, written or verbal, with the Welfare Engineering Company, a corporation, as lessee for said premises for the term of one year from Jan. 1, 1937 to Dec. 31, 1937. At the end of the term the defendant corporation continued in possession and occupation of said premises, and still continues in such possession without any new. arrangement or lease, and has, moreover, paid the monthly instalments of rent provided for in the original lease.

On Nov. 23,1943, it is claimed, plaintiffs, Thomas J. Killian and Ethel M. Killian acquired title in fee simple as joint tenants to the leased premises by a conveyance from the trustees. No further agreements or leases, however, have been entered between plaintiffs and defendant.

On Sept. 2, 1944, plaintiffs served on defendant a written demand for possession of the premises, and notice of termination of the tenancy on Dec. 31, 1944, but defendant has refused to comply therewith. Plaintiffs contend, therefore, that the rights of defendant to the premises were terminated by the notice, and that plaintiffs are entitled to possession.

Attached to this complaint, as Exhibit A, is a copy of the written notice of termination of the tenancy served on the defendant on Sept. 2, 1944, which describes the premises exactly as they are described in count 1 of the complaint.

Defendant filed a motion to transfer said cause to the equity side of the court and consolidate it with a proceeding for an injunction commenced by it against the plaintiffs. .

The material allegations of said motion are that under the lease from the trustees for the premises described as 42 Madison street, these premises were bound on the west by Spring street, and on the east by the Chicago and Northwestern railroad, and included therein an area between the building at 42 Madison street and the railroad tracks. This area was owned by the railroad and leased to the trustees.

It is further alleged that the plaintiffs entered this area and destroyed part of the platforms built by defendant thereon, thereby, obstructing the use of this area by defendant.

This motion to consolidate was denied by the circuit court, and defendant filed an answer which was essentially a general denial of the allegations in the complaint.

Plaintiffs, thereupon, filed their motion for summary judgment supported by affidavits in which they restated all of the facts alleged in the complaint, and further stated that the lease in question was in writing.

Attached to the said motion for summary judgment were three exhibits: Exhibit 1 was a copy of the lease, wherein the premises are described as “42 Madison St., Waukegan, Illinois.” Exhibit 2 was a certified copy of the deed from the trustees to the plaintiffs, describing the property by metes and bounds, and Exhibit 3 was a copy of the aforementioned notice of the termination of the tenancy served on defendants on Sept. 2, 1944, which described the premises by metes and bounds, and included the designation, “the said property being improved by a two-story brick building and known as 42 Madison St., Waukegan, Illinois.”

In defense of the motion for summary judgment, an affidavit was made by William J. Bargen, president of the defendant corporation. This affidavit asserts that defendant was in the occupation and possession of certain premises known as 42 Madison street which were bounded on the west by Spring street and on the east by the Chicago and Northwestern railroad tracks.

It states further, that defendant received two notices from plaintiffs. The first was served on Aug. 22, 1944, and demanded the immediate use by plaintiffs, described therein as lessees, of the area between the building and the railroad tracks, and the removal of all items of personal property situated thereon. The second notice, served on Sept. 2, 1944, upon which this action is predicated, did not, according to defendant’s contention, include the area described in the first notice, and was, therefore, insufficient to terminate the tenancy.

Plaintiffs challenged the sufficiency of this affidavit by a motion to strike, on the ground that it merely stated conclusions, and did not contain any facts constituting a defense to plaintiffs’ complaint, and was, therefore, in violation of Rule 15 of the Supreme Court (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1945, ch. 110, par. 259.15 [Jones Ill. Stats. Ann. 105.15]).

The trial court granted this motion. Defendant did not ask to file any further affidavits, or to amend the affidavit on file, and the court, thereupon, allowed plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment.

The question presented by the appeal of defendant, Welfare Engineering Company, a corporation, before this court, is whether the circuit court erred in striking defendant’s affidavit of merits, and in allowing plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment.

It is well established under the statutes and decisions of this State that the terms and provisions of sec. 57 of the Illinois Civil Practice Act, which authorizes the issuance of summary judgments, are applicable to actions of forcible detainer. Ill. Rev. Stat. 1945, ch. 110, par. 181; Jones Ill. Stats. Ann. 104.057; Wainscott v. Penikoff, 287 Ill. App. 78 (1936).

Rule 15 of our Supreme Court sets forth the requirements for affidavits in support of, and in opposition to, summary judgments. Ill. Rev. Stat. 1945, ch. 110, par. 259.15; Jones Ill. Stats. Ann. 105.15.

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Bluebook (online)
66 N.E.2d 305, 328 Ill. App. 375, 1946 Ill. App. LEXIS 266, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/killian-v-welfare-engineering-co-illappct-1946.