110 Mo. App. 344 | Mo. Ct. App. | 1905
— Defendants are the owners of an office building seven stories high located in the business district of Kansas City. Plaintiffs, when this suit was brought, were the lessees of three adjoining rooms-situated on the fifth floor and occupying a space the-
It is plaintiffs’ contention that under their lease the title to the comparatively small portion of the outer wall represented by the area thereof which incloses their rooms is vested in them, which, if true,
Obviously, the presence of a number of tenants in a single building restricts the extent of the demise to each and the rights and privileges incident thereto. The rights of all must be so curtailed that they will not interfere with each other. In this building all of the tenants possessed the right to the support and inclosure of the south wall, including the part thereof claimed by plaintiffs. It would lead to absurd conclusions to say that any tenant was vested with title to any portion of the outer walls. The title to them remained in the owner of the building, whose duty it was to maintain them for the benefit of all of the occupants. [Bank v. Boston, 118 Mass. 125; Lieferman v. Osten, 64 Ill. App. 578; Booth v. Gaither, 58 Ill. App. 263; McGinley v. Trust Co., 168 Mo. 257.]
It has been said by some authorities that tenants in buildings of this character whose rooms are inclosed
In the case before us the parties expressly agreed in the lease that plaintiffs were to be denied the use of any of the walls of the building for advertising their business. They were restricted to the use of the windows for such purpose. Evidently it was the intention of the parties that no other right to the wall was to be demised to plaintiffs than that of support and inclosure. [Lowell v. Strahan, supra.]
The landlord on his part is required in the use made by him of the wall not to inflict damage upon his tenants. He covenanted to give them uninterrupted and peaceable possession of the respective premises, and, therefore, would have no right to place such advertising or other matter on the outside of his building as would tend to injure the business of any of his tenants. No such injury is proven nor even claimed by plaintiffs. Aesthetics lie beyond the cognizance of either equity or law in such cases. Damage of a more substantial nature must be involved. Offended taste will not support a cause of action. [Bailey v. Culver, 84 Mo. 540; State ex rel. v. Flad, 25 Mo. App. 503; Schuster v. Myers, 148 Mo. 4291; State ex rel. v. Associated Press, 159 Mo. 458; Tanner v. Wallbrunn, 77 Mo. App. 262.]
Other points are made which will not be noticed here. What we haye said disposes of the case. The judgment is affirmed.