Yardumian v. BealsYardumian v. Beals
Nestor F. Mills, New Orleans, for defendant-appellee.
Before REDMANN, STOULIG and MORIAL, JJ.
MORIAL, Judge.
Plаintiff sued defendant to recover the sum of $190.00 plus damages and attorney‘s fees pursuant to
The issue concerning the completion date of the renovations is clouded by conflicting testimony. However, we find no basis in the record upon which to overturn the аpparent factual determination of the trial judge that the rеnovations were completed by July 15, 1973. See Canter v. Koehring Company, 283 So.2d 716 (La.1973). Accordingly, at that timе, the agreement to lease became executory and ripened into a lease for a month.
Sometime prior to July 15, 1973, plaintiff visited the apartment. She concluded that the renovatiоns were incomplete and could not be accomplishеd by the deadline. Plaintiff unsuccessfully attempted to talk with defendant about rescission and plaintiff‘s attorney wrote to defendant asking fоr rescission. On or about July 17 or 18 plaintiff apparently realized that defendant would not return the advance rent. At that time and in the presence of defendant, she attempted to sublease the apartment to two persons. Defendant refused to allow her tо make such arrangements and leased the apartment to thоse persons for a $215.00 monthly rental.
The provisions of
LSA-R.C.C. Article 2725 gives a lessee the right to sublease where such right is not expressly interdicted. The lease agreement between the parties contained no such prohibition. Furthermore, a lessor has a duty to provide a lessee with peacеable possession of the thing leased. See LSA-R.C.C. Article 2692.
Defendant not only prevented the lessee from subletting the premises, she deprived lessee of peaceable possession when she released the premises on July 18, 1973 for a term which overlaрped a substantial portion of the unexpired term for which the plaintiff had paid a rental and had the right to possession. Accоrdingly, the lessee was entitled to cancel the lease upon that occurrence. See Leake v. Hardie, 245 So.2d 729 (La.App. 4 Cir. 1971) and Young v. Eddy, 86 So.2d 243 (La.App. 1 Cir. 1956). Further, when the defendant relet thе apartment for an unexpired part of the term of the leаse, she had the obligation to credit the original lease with the funds сollected from the new tenants. See D. H. Overmeyer Co., Inc. v. Blakely Floor Cover., Inc., 266 So.2d 925 (La.App. 4 Cir. 1972).
Plaintiff has a right to a refund of that portion of the rent for the twenty-eight (28) days in which she was deprived of peaceable possession during the thirty-one (31) day period for which she paid an advance rent of $190.00. See Grace v. Hass, 20 La.Ann. 73 (1868); D. H. Overmeyer Co., Inc. v. Blakely Floor Cover., Inc., supra. We compute this amount to be $171.12.
For the fоregoing reasons the judgment of the First City Court of New Orleans is reversed and there is judgment herein in favor of the plaintiff, Mona Yardumian, and against the defendant Clare Beals, in the full sum of $171.12 together with legal interest frоm date of judicial demand until paid and for all costs of these proceedings.
REVERSED.