41 Ga. App. 784 | Ga. Ct. App. | 1930
This was a suit by the Overland Motor Car Company as landlord against Rippey Motor Company, for rent of a certain building in the "City of Atlanta. No dispute is shown by the record as to the amount due for rent. The defendant set up that during the period of the lease a very heavy windstorm prevailed
The cardinal rule of construction of contracts is to ascertain the intention of the parties. And when that intention is ascertained, if it contravenes no rule of law, it is to be enforced. Civil Code (1910), § 4266. Contracts are to be construed as a whole, and in
Counsel for plaintiff in error insist that the windstorm was an “act of God,” and not to be regarded as a casualty within the meaning of the lease contract. They cite United States v. Northern Pacific R. Co., 215 Fed. 64; Forsdick v. Board of Supervisors (Miss.), 25 So. 294; Crystal Springs v. Cox, supra. In the first case, the suit was instituted by the government to recover a penalty prescribed by law against a railroad company requiring employees to remain on duty for a longer period than sixteen consecutive hours. The railroad defended on the ground that the infraction was occasioned by a derailment, and that there should be no
Judgment affirmed.