Pitzen's Wig Villa v. Pruitt

464 P.2d 652, 11 Ariz. App. 332, 1970 Ariz. App. LEXIS 482
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arizona
DecidedFebruary 4, 1970
Docket1 CA-CIV 958
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 464 P.2d 652 (Pitzen's Wig Villa v. Pruitt) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Arizona primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Pitzen's Wig Villa v. Pruitt, 464 P.2d 652, 11 Ariz. App. 332, 1970 Ariz. App. LEXIS 482 (Ark. Ct. App. 1970).

Opinion

JACOBSON, Judge.

The liability of a landlord for acts allegedly resulting in the failure of his tenant’s business is asserted in this appeal from a judgment entered in the Superior Court of Maricopa County.

Plaintiff-appellant, PITZEN’S WIG VILLA, brought suit against its landlord, defendants-appellees MILTON D. PRUITT and TERRY PRUITT, his wife, alleging “that plaintiff was put out of business by the acts * * * of the defendants” and seeking $150,000 actual and $75,000 punitive damages. The complaint also alleged conversion. A partial summary judgment was entered in favor of the defendants as to the-claim of conversion. Three months later a second Motion for Summary Judgment was' granted in favor of the defendants on the remainder of the claim. Plaintiff appeals from the latter judgment only.

Although both Mr. Pruitt and his wife were named as defendants in this action, all the acts complained of were done by Mr. Pruitt and for convenience the defendants will hereinafter be referred to in the singular.

Plaintiff initially contends that it was not afforded sufficient opportunity to present controverting affidavits or a written response to defendant’s second motion for summary judgment and therefore it was error for the trial court to grant the motion. We do not agree.

Defendant’s motion for summary judgment was served and filed on June 28, 1968, and a hearing was set for July 22, 1968. A pretrial conference had previously been scheduled for July 8, 1968, exactly ten days after service of the motion for summary judgment. Oral arguments on the motion for summary judgment were heard at the pretrial conference without objection by either counsel.

Rule 56(c) of the. Arizona Rules of Civil Procedure, 16 A.R.S. (Supp.1969-70) requires a minimum interval of ten days between the date the motion is served and the date of the hearing and permits the adverse party to serve opposing affidavits anytime “prior to the day of (the) hearing.” Here, the date-of the pretrial conference satisfied the ten-day mandate of Rule 56(c). We deem plaintiff’s failure' to object during oral argument'on the motion for summary judgment a waiver of any error of the trial court in considering arguments on this motion prior to the date originally scheduled. Moreover, inasmuch as plaintiff never requested that the court grant additional time within which to submit a written response or controverting affidavits, it cannot now urge error based upon inadequate opportunity to oppose defendant’s motion. Cf. Milam v. Milam, 101 Ariz. 323, 419 P.2d 502 (1966).

*334 Defendant, on the other hand, urges that plaintiff’s failure to file controverting affidavits makes the granting of the motion mandatory on the trial court. With this contention we also do not agree. Commercial Engineering Corp. v. Madison Chevrolet, Inc., 10 Ariz.App. 529, 460 P.2d 200 (1969). The trial court is required to consider not only the supporting and controverting affidavits, but also the pleadings and any depositions, interrogatories and answers thereto and admissions on file which are brought to the court’s attention by the parties. Arizona Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 56(c), 16 A.R.S. (Supp. 1969-70). The record in this case contains several depositions and a controverting affidavit to an earlier motion for summary judgment. If this record disclosés a genuine issue as to any material fact then summary judgment was inappropriately granted by the trial court. Transamerica Insurance Co. v. Valley National Bank, 11 Ariz.App. 121, 462 P.2d 814, (filed December 23, 1969).

It is axiomatic that on an appeal from the granting of a motion for summary judgment the record will be viewed in a light most favorable to the party opposing the summary judgment and without a weighing of the conflicting evidence. Elerick v. Rocklin, 102 Ariz. 78, 425 P.2d 103 (1967). It is equally true that uncontroverted evidence favorable to the movant, and from which only one inference can be drawn, will be presumed to be true provided such evidence would be admissible at a trial on the merits. Executive Towers v. Leonard, 7 Ariz.App. 331, 439 P.2d 303 (1968); Patterson v. Patterson, 102 Ariz. 410, 432 P.2d 143 (1967); 3 Barron & Holtzoff, Federal Practice and Procedure, sec. 1237 (Rules ed., Wright rev. 1958). The above principles are observed in the following statement of facts.

The plaintiff is an Arizona corporation whose sole directors and managing officers are Mr. and Mrs. Sylvester Pitzen. On November 1, 1964, plaintiff, through its president, Mr. Pitzen, entered into a three-year. renewable lease with the defendant for a building from which to conduct its business. The lease contained the following provision:

“Should there at any time be any default by Lessee *. * * Lessors may, at Lessors’ sole option, declare this lease terminated * * *; provided, however, Lessee shall not be held to be in default in * * * payment of rent * * * until ten days after receipt of zvritten notice of such default. * * * ” (Emphasis added.)

Two and a half years later Mr. and Mrs. Pitzen, having consulted an attorney, decided to file personal and corporate bankruptcy. In late April, 1967, they discharged the corporation’s last employee, locked the premises, and for all practical purposes suspended the business operations of Pitzen’s Wig Villa. Sometime thereafter the defendant found Pitzen’s Wig Villa closed during business hours and called'plaintiff’s attorney whose phone number had been placed just inside the front window by the Pitzens. Being informed by plaintiff’s attorney of the impending bankruptcy, and with the concurrence of plaintiff’s attorney, the defendant padlocked the front and rear doors of the building. The defendant maintains that the padlocks were added to more adequately secure, the premises for the sole purpose of protecting the’ merchandise and other- contents therein in-the best interests of all parties concerned.

It is the act of padlocking the doors which plaintiff alleges put it out of business, and caused $150,000 in damages. Plaintiff contends that the defendant informed Mr. Pitzen later on the same day that one of the reasons he had padlocked the doors was because plaintiff had breached the lease by being seven days in arrears with the rent. Padlocking the doors for such a reason, urges plaintiff, constituted a breach,, by the defendant, of the lease provision requiring 10-days written notice before declaring a default 'and terminating the lease:

The validity of plaintiff’s contention depends, of course, on whether the act of *335 padlocking the doors constituted constructive eviction.

Defendant argues that the padlocks were authorized by plaintiff’s attorney and that plaintiff was bound by the acts of its agent.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Gatecliff v. Great Republic Life Insurance
821 P.2d 725 (Arizona Supreme Court, 1991)
McWain v. Tucson General Hospital
670 P.2d 1180 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 1983)
McWain v. Tucson General Hosp.
670 P.2d 1180 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 1983)
State Ex Rel. Corbin v. Sabel
674 P.2d 316 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 1983)
Corral v. Fidelity Bankers Life Insurance
630 P.2d 1055 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 1981)
Zappanti v. Berge Service Center
549 P.2d 178 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 1976)
Bible v. First National Bank of Rawlins
515 P.2d 351 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 1973)
Panagiotis v. Miltiades
497 P.2d 77 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 1972)
Evans v. Dise
486 P.2d 213 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 1971)
Herring v. Railway Express Agency, Inc.
474 P.2d 35 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 1970)
Choisser v. State Ex Rel. Herman
469 P.2d 493 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 1970)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
464 P.2d 652, 11 Ariz. App. 332, 1970 Ariz. App. LEXIS 482, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pitzens-wig-villa-v-pruitt-arizctapp-1970.