Adams Grain & Provision Co. v. Chesapeake & Ohio Railway Co.

Citations

• 118 Va. 500
• 88 S.E. 171
• 1916 Va. LEXIS 31

Syllabus

<p>1. Landlord and Tenant—Repairs to Premises—Special Covenants— Common Law Rule.—At common law, in the absence of express covenants to the contrary, the lessor is under no obligation to keep the premises in repair, and the lessee takes them as he finds them.</p> <p>2. Landlord and Tenant—Special Covenants—Rent of Floor Space— Bursting of Pipes—Damages—Demurrer to Evidence.—Where a water pipe was placed in a building solely for the purpose of fire protection, extending from the ground to the top floor, and was wholly in the possession and care of the landlord who leased floor space on one of the floors to a lessee, and'the lessee had no use of, and no power or authority to interfere with, the pipe, nor in any manner to control or regulate the flow of water, such pipe was in no sense appurtenant to the leasehold, nor a part of it, and it cannot be said as a matter of law that the landlord is not liable for damages resulting to the tenant from the freezing and bursting of such pipe, although there was no special covenant in the lease covering such liability. The inquiry concerning the landlord’s negligence involved a mixed question of law and fact, which should have been submitted to the jury upon correct instructions, and hence, upon a demurrer to the evidence by the landlord, the question should be decided against him.</p>