179 Iowa 652 | Iowa | 1917
1. By the lease executed in duplicate on October 6, 1913, plaintiff leased to defendants, at an annual cash rental, .80 acres-of land, from' March T,'1914,-until the death of plaintiff. And the-lease' further-'provided that" plaintiff was to have her board and a room in- the house bn the premises, without charge; until--the end of the lease, unless sooner terminated; that defendants were to preserve and keep the fruit and ornamental trees -from injury by plowing, or from cattle, horses, sheep, or otherwise-; that defendants were not to permit any wilful or voluntary waste, spoil or destruction in or upon said premises. It further provided that, after March 1, 1920, either party to the agreement might terminate the lease by giving written. notic’e. Second party further agreed: that, if they failed to keep and perform all the covenants; plaintiff might declare the lease void, upon giving 30 days’ notice, and could. re-enter the premises.
The petition alleges that, contrary,to the. req.1 contract
Defendants allege that the writing expresses the real contract between the parties, and deny that'there was any oversight or mistake; allege that they have complied with their part of the contract; deny allegations as to waste.
No 30 days’ notice has ever been given by plaintiff, as provided in the contract. Plaintiff is 63 years of age, but has been in America 61 years. The questions presented are almost entirely of fact. ■
The testimony to sustain plaintiff’s contention as to the reformation of the lease is that of plaintiff alone, or substantially so. This is denied by both defendants. It appears that the parties had talked over the provisions of the lease'at their home in the country, and. went to an attorney in Grinnell to reduce the agreement to writing. The attorney who drew the lease, who is not an attorney for either party in this case, and who appears to be disinterested, testifies that, after the contract was prepared, it was read over to the parties and explained to them, and he thinks plaintiff understood its provisions. And plaintiff, on cross-examination, says in part:
“This contract was drawn by Mr. Patton after all
It should have been said in regard to the alleged agreement that defendants were to keep a horse and colt for plaintiff. The attorney testifies that the reason this was not in'cluded in the contract is that the parties themselves did not come to any definite understanding as to just what kind of an animal should be described in the contract; that there was something said about this, but that plaintiff did not know just which animal she wanted to keep. It appears from the testimony, however, that the defendants did keep a horse for plaintiff until she sold it.
There appears to have been some ill will towards the defendants on the part of the plaintiff, growing out of the fact that, in March, 1915, four daughters and one son of the plaintiff instituted guardianship proceedings against -her, on the ground that she was habitually addicted to the excessive use of intoxicating liquors, and a trial was had thereon. In this case, one son and a daughter have taken sides with the mother, and the other daughters on the side of defendants. Unfortunately, plaintiff was not happy when living with defendants, and defendants may be somewhat to blame in some respects; yet plaintiff seems to have an unhappy disposition.
We have not attempted to set out the evidence in full. It is not our practice to do so in fact cases. But, taking the record all together, we are satisfied that the plaintiff did not make out a case for reformation or forfeiture of the lease on account of waste or damage, and that the trial court properly decided the case.
The decree of the district court is, therefore, — Affirmed.