Rock v. Antoine's, Inc.

191 A.2d 651, 56 Del. 152, 6 Storey 152, 1963 Del. Super. LEXIS 141
CourtSuperior Court of Delaware
DecidedMay 22, 1963
DocketNo. 295
StatusPublished

This text of 191 A.2d 651 (Rock v. Antoine's, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior Court of Delaware primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Rock v. Antoine's, Inc., 191 A.2d 651, 56 Del. 152, 6 Storey 152, 1963 Del. Super. LEXIS 141 (Del. Ct. App. 1963).

Opinion

Lynch, Judge.

Plaintiff’s complaint, filed March 16, 1962, alleged he purchased household furniture costing about $5,508.00 from defendant Antoine’s, Inc., paying part down and executing and delivering a conditional sales contract. His complaint alleged he was a tenant of Dorset Apartments, Inc., and the furniture was delivered there. It is charged that some months later defendants Antoine’s, and Muscelli and Kearn-ey, its agents, filed replevin suits in the Court of defendant, Magistrate Goldfeder, a Justice of the Peace, and these writs were executed by defendant Berger.

The complaint charges that the defendants, other than Magistrate Goldfeder broke into plaintiff’s apartment in [154]*154the Dorset and unlawfully removed designated property, while plaintiff was absent from the apartment. Plaintiff seeks compensatory and exemplary damages for the unlawful entry, and for the conversion and taking away of his property. He charged that Magistrate Goldfeder and Constable Berger were “guilty” of “abuse of judicial process” and that Dorset Apartments, Inc. had illegally evicted him from his apartment.

The Dorset Apartments, Inc. filed answer and counterclaim, setting up a lease made with plaintiff and Richard L. Henry as “tenants” for three years, for a monthly rental of $270.00 and alleging that the rent was in default prior to the date plaintiff brought his suit on March 16, 1962.

The lease provided, inter alla, (¶3) that if the rent was not paid and lessees were in default “Lessor or his agent may enter the leased premises, by force or otherwise, without being liable for any prosecution or action therefor and may proceed to distrain for and collect the” rents due or the whole thereof. Paragraph 9 of this lease likewise provided that if Lessee “shall fail to comply with or violate any of the terms, conditions or covenants” of the lease it shall “* * * determine and become absolutely void without any right on part of Lessee to save the forfeiture * * *”. Later the Dorset Apartments moved for summary judgment.

Defendants, Antoine’s, Inc., Muscelli and Kearney, filed answer, setting up they repossessed the articles of furniture listed in the complaint “pursuant to the conditional sales agreement”, contending, in a counter claim, that plaintiff after purchasing the furniture gave a check for $2,433.50, which Antoine’s, Inc. was never able to cash and to get the money called for thereunder, and this was in violation of the conditional sales agreement.

[155]*155Defendants, Goldfeder and Berger, by the Attorney General, moved to- dismiss on the ground that complaint fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted as to the named defendants.

The defendants, Dorset Apartments and Goldfeder and Berger, filed briefs in support of their motions. The case was orally argued on September 12, 1962, at which time the Court was asked to pass on objections to certain interrogatories. Plaintiff at that time asked for additional time within which to complete discovery. Since then no supplemental discovery has been shown to the Court and the docket is silent except for an entry of an order on October 5, 1962, when the Court, on motion of plaintiff, directed Antoine’s, Inc. to produce for plaintiff’s inspection its sales slips, sales memorandum ledger records and other records relating to- his account with Antoine’s, Inc.

At a conference with all counsel, held this Spring, plaintiff was advised the Court was impelled, in the interests of all the parties, to place a limitation on any request for further extension of time for completion of discovery. On the same occasion, attention was called to counsel for plaintiff to the terms of -the lease with Dorset, Inc., and counsel given time to amend his pleadings, to show why his co-lessee had not joined in the suit or otherwise explain failure to join Henry as a party to the action and plaintiff’s right to further maintain his suit.

Plaintiff has not taken advantage of this proposal on the Court’s part and in light of Rule 107(e), Del. C. the Court considers this situation as one in which the Rule should be applied, since the case has been pending since March 16, 1962, and plaintiff has not demonstrated any good reason why the case should not be dismissed.

[156]*156I point out, moreover, it has been plaintiff’s continuing duty to show, by affidavit or discovery, “any evidence he had which would have disclosed the existence of a genuine issue of fact.” Jones v. Julian, 5 Storey 505 (1963,Del.Super.Ct.), 188 A.2d 521. This has not been done. I consider that plaintiff has had ample time to comply with this duty and he has failed to produce any such evidence. I note further (1) that the lease plaintiff had with Dorset Apartments, Inc. had by its own terms “become absolutely void” since plaintiff had not paid his rent at the time his suit was filed; (2) plaintiff has not amended his pleadings as was heretofore suggested; and (3) plaintif has shown no evidence whatsoever tending to show Dorset Apartments, Inc. broke into- his apartment and took his furniture. Dorset Apartments, Inc. is entitled to have its motion for summary judgment granted — particularly since I question the right of plaintiff to- sue Dorset in light of the lease agreement. He had violated the lease by failure to pay rent; he had given assent, by paragraph 3 of the lease, to his landlord to “enter the leased premises”; he had not -only agreed to such an entry, he had waived any rights by the agreement for entry by landlord by agreeing it could do so “without -being liable for any * * * action therefor

i'fi * * »

This case presents a spectacle- of a plaintiff who believes he has or may have a justifiable complaint against a private individual (Antoine’s, Inc.) for supposed breach of a private contract between the two of them — -the conditional sales agreement. Plaintiff would say — and have the Court be-lieve — Antoine’s, Inc. took advantage of him by repossessing its goods under the terms of that contract; so miffed at Antoine’s actions, plaintiff has sued everyone who had any contact with the proceedings, regardless of how remote their contact may be. The complaint was slap[157]*157ped together and filed, including the suing, inter alia, of a judicial officer and his constable, as officers of the State of Delaware, for personal liability. The complaint spells out no sufficient facts to demonstrate any liability or any rational theory of relief.

The depositions of Constable Berger and Mr. Cicero of the Dorset Apartments clearly show that Mr. Muscelli of Antoine’s, went to the Dorset Apartments accompanied by Constable Berger, who had with him certain writs issued by the Magistrate Goldfeder. After the Dorset Apartment people checked with their attorneys, all these persons went to the apartment which had been let in the names of plaintiff and Mr. Henry. When all reached there, they found that someone — it could have been Mr. Henry, plaintiff’s co-lessee — was already in the apartment and that the door was then unlocked.

The employees of Antoine’s proceeded to remove certain furniture. The record shows: (1) no one broke into the apartment on this occasion and (2) Constable Berger did not participate in any removal of the furniture.

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74 A.2d 460 (Superior Court of Delaware, 1950)
Jones v. Julian
188 A.2d 521 (Superior Court of Delaware, 1963)
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Bluebook (online)
191 A.2d 651, 56 Del. 152, 6 Storey 152, 1963 Del. Super. LEXIS 141, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rock-v-antoines-inc-delsuperct-1963.