129 N.Y.S. 222 | N.Y. App. Div. | 1911
The plaintiff, at the time stated in the complaint, was engaged in the retail tea and coffee business, employing several' salesmen to take orders and make deliveries — he, personally, collecting the bills. On July 12, 1909, he went to an apartment house owned by the defendant in this action for the purpose of collecting a bill- from a customer. He entered the vestibule, rang the customer’s bell, and thereupon the janitor of the house appeared and asked him what he wanted. The plaintiff informed the janitor that he came to collect a bill from one
I am of the opinion the complaint was properly dismissed. There is no evidence that the janitor used any more force than, was necessary to prevent the plaintiff from entering the house after he had 'been told he could not do so. . The alleged cause of action is predicated upon the proposition that the plaintiff had a. legal right to enter the apartment house, notwithstanding the fact,that the owner forbade his doing so.. He had no such, right and if he had he could not resort to force to accomplish that purpose: When the owner of. a house rents it to another he thereby confers upon the tenant the right to use the building, or such part of it as is rented, and this includes an easement of ingress and egress by the usual way. This easement, however, is for the tenant (Totten v. Phipps, 52 N. Y. 354; Doyle y. Lord, 64 id. 432), and third parties, except upon the invitation, either express or implied, of the landlord or tenant, have no more right to enter the building than they would if it were vacant. Here the record is absolutely barren of any evidence that the tenant had, either expressly or impliedly,. invited the plaintiff to enter the building contrary to the rules established by the landlord. The plaintiff, before the alleged assault was committed, had been informed that he
It follows that the determination of the Appellate Term and judgment appealed from must be reversed; with costs, and the judgment of the City Court of January 29, 1910, affirmed, with costs in this court and at the Appellate Term.
Ingraham, P. J., Scott, Miller and Dowling, JJ., concurred.
Determination and judgment appealed from reversed, and judgment of City Court of January 29, 1910, affirmed, with costs in this court and at the Appellate Term.