Opinion op the Court by
Affirming.
Some years ago J. G. Bennett opened, a restaurant and dance hall known as Inn Logola about one mile east *748 of the city limits of Louisville. After this the. Gonsolh dated Realty Company purchased a tract of land adjacent to his property, and opened a subdivision known as Wellington, cutting it up into lots. 'Bennett purchased from the comрany lot 1 and from its vendees lots 2 and 3. These three lots lay adjoining, and were separated from Bennett’s proрerty by an alley. Inn Logola was .much attended by people coming in cape, and, even before, Bennett purchased lot 1, his patrons were using for packing purposes this ground when necessary. His original lot containеd only space enough for 10 or 12 cars. After Bennett acquired lots 1, 2 and 3, he covered the rear of the lots with сinders, and his patrons used it for parking purposes; often as many as 100 cars were there. He had dances in the еvening, and these lasted sometimes until 2 or 3 o’clock in the morning. Bennett charged nothing for the parking. He did no business on thеse lots, except to allow them to be used by his patrons. The only charges he made were for what was received in the house. The deed to him for the lots contained this clause:
“No trade or business whatever shall be permitted or maintained'on- this property. This is not to include doctors or dentists who may maintain an office in their residenсe.”
. The company brought this suit against Bennett to enjoin him from using lots 1, 2 and 3 as a parking space for the' automobilеs of patrons of Inn Logola or for any other purpose incidental to or associated-with the opеration of the roadhouse. The issues were made up, proof Was taken,'and on final hearing the'circuit court granted the injunction as prayed. Bennett'appeals. '
• The -use of the lots by Bennett’s patrons was plainly a usе for business purposes. It was necessary to have -a -parking; place for these automobiles^ The pаrking place was an incident to the roadhouse, without which the roadhouse could not have been succеssfully operated under the circumstance's. Bennett was carrying on the business of operating the roadhouse; and, in providing parking places for his patrons, he was simply performing an incident of that business. While such provisions in deеds are not construed to create restrictions beyond the fair and natural meaning of the words used, read in the light оf the circumstances under which they were used, they will be enforced according to their fain and *749 natural meaning, in' thе absence of fraud or mutual mistake. To hold that no trade or business was permitted on these lots would be to refusе to enforce the provision according to the plain meaning of the common words of everyday spеech in which it is expressed; for such a use as Bennett was making of the property would be especially objectionable in a residential section, and the restriction was inserted to protect the subdivision for residential рurposes.
Bennett insists that he was using lot 1 as a parking place when he bought it from appellee, and that, when he bought it, it was agreed between him and the agent of appellee, from whom he bought, that he might continue to so use it; that he bought it for this purpose; and that the agent sold it to him for his purpose. But the agent denies all this, and there is no рleading or proof that anything was left out of the written contract by fraud or mistake. The rule on the subject is thus well stated in 10 R. C. L.:
“When the language employed in a contract has an ordinary meaning, or if the meaning is plain and unambiguous when read in connection with other provisions of the contract, extrinsic evidence as to its meaning is not admissible. ” Sеction 258, p. 1063.
“It is a general rule that where the words of any written instrument are free from ambiguity in themselves, and. where extеrnal-circumstances do not create any doubts or difficulty as to the proper application of those words to claimants under the instrument, or the subject matter to which the instrument relates, such instrument is always to be construed according to the strict, plain, common meaning of the words themselves, and that in such ca.se evidence dеhors the instrument, for the purpose of explaining it according to any surmised, or alleged .intention of the partiеs to , the instrument, is utterly inadmissible. In short, the words of an instrument, unambiguous in themselves, cannot' be controlled by proof that the parties used them with a definite and limited meaning, for the purpose of that particular instrument. Section 265, p. 1070.
These rulеs have-often been applied by this court. Marshall v. Dean, 4 J. J. Marsh. 583; Spurrier’s Heirs v. Parker,
The statute requires such contrаcts to be in writing, signed by the party charged. The purpose of the statute is to provide against the uncertainty of сontradictory parol evidence in such cases. The language of the contract here is unambiguous. It is exрressed in ordinary words. There is no latent ambiguity. The purpose of the statute would be entirely defeated, if in such cаses evidence were allowed contradicting or varying the plain meaning of the contract omits facе when read in the light of all the circumstances surrounding the parties when it was made.
Bennett also relies on the faсt that the company allowed another to maintain a signboard on one of its lots, but the proof shows that this was done under a contract for a limited time simply as an accommodation) and that the signboard was removed before this case was tried. The covenant has no application to appellee in the use of its property. On the whole case, no reason appears for disturbing the judgment of the circuit court.
Judgment affirmed.