6 Conn. Cir. Ct. 309 | Conn. App. Ct. | 1970
This summary process action was brought by the lessors to recover possession of premises located at 53 Water Street, South Norwalk,
The plaintiffs seek to have added to the finding a number of paragraphs of the draft finding on the ground that the facts stated in them were admitted or undisputed, and to have certain paragraphs of the finding deleted as having been found without evidence. Where the finding fails to include admitted or undisputed facts, or finds facts without evidence, this court has the power to correct it. Brockett v. Jensen, 154 Conn. 328, 330.
The finding, with such corrections as the plaintiffs are entitled to, maybe stated as follows: On June 6, 1969, the plaintiffs and the defendant entered into a lease agreement of the premises owned by the plaintiffs at 53 Water Street, South Norwalk, Connecticut, for a term of two years, commencing on the first day of July, 1969, for a term rent of $5580 payable in monthly instalments of $225 per month, the first payment being due on July 1, 1969, and succeeding payments being due on the first day of each month thereafter, in advance. The lease also provides that should the rent remain unpaid for ten days after the first day of each month then the lease shall expire and terminate. The lease further provides that the plaintiffs may recover possession in the manner prescribed by the statute relating to summary process and that no demand for rent, no reentry for condition broken, shall be necessary to recover possession and that the defendant waived notice to quit possession. The defendant went into possession of the premises July 1, 1969, under this
The plaintiffs assign error in the conclusions reached by the trial court. They are tested by the finding. Brockett v. Jensen, supra, 331; Klahr v. Kostopoulos, 138 Conn. 653, 655. The conclusions reached by the court must stand unless they are legally or logically inconsistent with the facts found or unless they involve the application of some erroneous rule of law material to the case. Johnston Jewels, Ltd. v. Leonard, 156 Conn. 75, 79; Craig v. Dunleavy, 154 Conn. 100, 105.
The basic claim of the plaintiffs is that the court erred in applying equitable grounds in not finding a
It is of course true that equity has power to relieve against a forfeiture, and where there is good ground for such relief a court of equity having jurisdiction of such a question will restrain the enforcement of the forfeiture in a court of law. Thompson v. Coe, 96 Conn. 644, 659. Where a defendant has equitable grounds to stay summary process proceedings, his proper course is to resort to equity for relief. Atlantic Refining Co. v. O’Keefe, 131 Conn. 528, 530; Winestine v. Rose Cloak & Suit Co., 93 Conn. 633, 638. The only issue before the trial court in this action was whether, under the lease, rent is due, and therefore whether there has been a forfeiture of the lease. This is a common-law question. There is no issue between the parties as to whether, granting that the forfeiture has occurred, there are equities which would relieve against the forfeiture. The court had merely to determine the right of possession on account of forfeiture for nonpayment of rent, and it makes no difference on equitable grounds whether there had been a technical forfeiture at law or not. Thompson v. Coe, supra; Michalowski v. New Britain, 16 Conn. Sup. 9.
The court’s conclusion was contrary to law.
There is error, the judgment is set aside and the case is remanded with direction to render judgment for the plaintiffs.
In this opinion Casale and Jacobs, Js., concurred.
We are aware that the Circuit Court has equitable jurisdiction, but in the present case the defendant did not seek equitable relief. We do not decide whether an equitable defense is proper in a summary process action or whether a separate suit would be necessary to seek equitable relief.