Krance v. Faeh

338 N.W.2d 55, 215 Neb. 242, 1983 Neb. LEXIS 1249
CourtNebraska Supreme Court
DecidedAugust 26, 1983
Docket82-486
StatusPublished
Cited by32 cases

This text of 338 N.W.2d 55 (Krance v. Faeh) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Nebraska Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Krance v. Faeh, 338 N.W.2d 55, 215 Neb. 242, 1983 Neb. LEXIS 1249 (Neb. 1983).

Opinions

Boslaugh, J.

This was an action to recover damages for injury to cattle caused by the ingestion of Dyfonate, a highly toxic insecticide.

The defendant, Wendell L. Faeh, is the lessee of an 80-acre tract of farmland in Merrick County, Nebraska. In 1979 he raised com on approximately 76 acres of the land. The remainder of the tract was occupied by tumrows, a shelterbelt, and two old gravel pits. The plaintiffs operate a cattle feeding [244]*244business. Late in 1979 the plaintiffs arranged with the defendant to run cattle upon the com ground for $2.50 per acre.

In February 1980 the plaintiffs placed 300 head of their cattle upon the defendant’s land. Prior to this time, one of the plaintiffs and his men had erected electric fences on the land. The fences extended into and enclosed the turnrows and a part of the shelterbelt area adjacent to the corn ground. Several days after the cattle had been placed on the land, five or six cattle were found dead. A bag of Dyfonate was discovered in some weeds in the area between the cornfield and the shelterbelt. The bag had been trampled open and a part of the contents consumed by the cattle. Twenty-three cattle died as a result of Dyfonate poisoning. Other cattle recovered following treatment by a veterinarian.

The second amended petition alleged four theories of recovery. The case was submitted to the jury on theories of negligence and strict liability. The jury returned a general verdict for the plaintiffs in the amount of $11,311.40.

The defendant has appealed. The principal assignments of error relate to the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain the judgment and the instructions to the jury.

Although the plaintiffs’ brief requests that the judgment be affirmed, they have filed a cross-appeal. The plaintiffs allege that the trial court should have instructed the jury to determine the contractual relationship between the parties and that the trial court should have instructed the jury as a matter of law that the relationship between the parties was that of business invitor-invitee.

Instruction No. 2 read in part as follows: “Defendant Faeh leased the premises involved in this action to the plaintiffs. If you find all of the following conditions true:

“1. There was a condition on the premises which [245]*245involved an unreasonable risk of harm to the plaintiffs’ cattle.”

The trial court correctly instructed the jury that as to the land leased by the plaintiffs, the relationship between the parties was that of lessor and lessee. Although in fact the defendant was a sublessor and the plaintiffs were sublessees, the same rules apply to this relationship as are applicable to a lessor-lessee relationship. See 49 Am. Jur. 2d Landlord and Tenant § 503 (1970).

The trial court was correct in finding as a matter of law that a lessor-lessee relationship existed between the parties. We said in Johnson v. City of Lincoln, 174 Neb. 837, 846, 120 N.W.2d 297, 303 (1963): “ ‘A lease is a species of contract for the possession and profits of land and tenements, either for life, or for a certain period of time, or during the pleasure of the parties; and the essential elements of a contract must be present,’ ” quoting 51 C.J.S. Landlord & Tenant § 202 b. (1947).

In Hampton v. Struve, 160 Neb. 305, 70 N.W.2d 74 (1955), we held that a lease is a hiring or renting of land for a certain time upon a named consideration.

The evidence shows that the plaintiffs paid the defendant $2.50 per acre for the right to enter the property, erect fences upon it, and place their cattle upon the property for grazing. It was undisputed that the cattle could remain upon the ground until the ground thawed. No other conclusion can be reached but that the agreement between the parties amounted to a lease.

When reasonable minds can draw but one conclusion from the facts, the trial court must decide the issue as a matter of law and not submit it to a jury. Feola v. Valmont Industries, Inc., 208 Neb. 527, 304 N.W.2d 377 (1981). Therefore, it was not error for the court to instruct the jury that a lease existed between the parties.

The trial court did not err in refusing to instruct the jury as to the duties of a landowner or occupier [246]*246to a business invitee. The categories of tenant and invitee are by definition mutually exclusive. See the definitions given in Roan v. Bruckner, 180 Neb. 399, 143 N.W.2d 108 (1966).

There is no direct evidence as to how the bag of Dyfonate happened to be left upon the property. The defendant testified that he had used Dyfonate on this field in 1978. The defendant had farmed several farms in both 1978 and 1979 and he was unsure whether he had used Dyfonate on this particular ground in 1979. Sales invoices from a local supplier indicated he had purchased Dyfonate in both 1978 and 1979.

Although the petition alleged and the answer admitted that the plaintiffs had leased from the defendant the entire 260 acres farmed by the defendant, there is some uncertainty in the record as to the exact area leased by the plaintiffs. The defendant testified that he relied on ASCS measurements in determining the number of acres involved in the agreement. Those measurements do not include the turn-rows or shelterbelt. The plaintiffs paid for the use of the com ground only. The defendant did not expressly prohibit the use of the turnrows and shelter-belt, but testified that he did not expect the plaintiffs to use them. Krance, one of the plaintiffs, testified that a part of the shelterbelt was fenced in so as to provide protection for the cattle in the event of a snowstorm.

The defendant contends that it was error for the trial court to instruct the jury that he, as landlord, had a duty to warn the plaintiffs of a condition which presented an unreasonable risk of harm and of which he or his employees knew or “should have known.” The defendant argues that a landlord must warn only of conditions of which he has actual knowledge.

The rules governing the duties owed by a landlord to his tenant have been set forth in several cases. “ ‘ “The rule of caveat emptor applies to leases of [247]*247real estate, wherein the control passes to the lessee, and, in the absence of fraud, deceit or concealment, the duty devolves upon the lessee to examine the premises with respect to suitability for his business and with respect to safety.” ’ ” Gehrke v. General Theatre Corp., 207 Neb. 301, 304, 298 N.W.2d 773, 775 (1980), quoting Van Avery v. Platte Valley Land & Investment Co., 133 Neb. 314, 275 N.W. 288 (1937). See, also, Roberts v. Rogers, 129 Neb. 298, 261 N.W. 354 (1935).

“ ‘A landlord is not liable to his tenant for any defects existing in the demised premises at the time of the lease that are perceptible to the senses or that can be discovered by reasonable inspection or examination.’ ” Roan v. Bruckner, supra at 403, 143 N.W.2d at 111, quoting Roberts v. Rogers, supra.

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Krance v. Faeh
338 N.W.2d 55 (Nebraska Supreme Court, 1983)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
338 N.W.2d 55, 215 Neb. 242, 1983 Neb. LEXIS 1249, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/krance-v-faeh-neb-1983.