136 Mo. App. 590 | Mo. Ct. App. | 1909
Action by a lessor against her lessee to recover rent due and unpaid. Plaintiff alleges that the rent of the demised premises for the months of July, August and September, 1907, of $200 per month was not paid by defendant and is due and payable under the terms of the lease. In effect, defendant admits in his answer that he is the lessee of the premises as charged in the petition and that he did not pay the rent in controversy,'but he seeks to justify his action on the ground that he was evicted from a part of the demised premises and being thus deprived of the beneficial enjoyment thereof is himself the injured party and is excused in law from paying the rent by plaintiff’s breach of her covenant to give him continuous and peaceful possession of the entire premises.
The reply, in addition to a general denial, contains pleas of waiver and estoppel. A motion to strike out the new matter in the reply was filed by defendant and overruled by the court. Defendant excepted and argues that the ruling on the motion was erroneous. The trial to a jury resulted in a verdict and judgment for plaintiff for the full amount demanded in the petition. Defendant appealed.
It appears from the evidence that the sale of the property to plaintiff and the letting thereof to defendant were parts of one transaction and that defendant’s agreement to become plaintiff’s lessee was an inducing cause of the sale. Quinn was paying $175 per month rent for the whole property and on March 5, 1906, defendant notified him in writing that beginning May 1st, the rent would be raised to $250 per month. Quinn ac
In this view of tbe case, tbe question of whether or not tbe court erred in overruling defendant’s motion to strike out parts of tbe reply is immaterial. Tbe same may be said of other questions argued by counsel. Tbe judgment is for tbe right party and is affirmed.