Anderson v. Smith

Citations

• 63 Ill. 126

Syllabus

<p>1. Landlord and tenant—attornment under false claim,—disputing landlord's title. Where a person entered into possession of land under one landlord, and was then induced to attorn to another under the belief and upon the claim and representation of such other person that he had the title to the premises, and when sued in ejectment permitted his second landlord to defend in his name, under an agreement to indemnify him against costs, and held possession for him until evicted in the suit, whereupon he paid rent to the original landlord, who was plaintiff in the ejectment suit: Seld, that a recovery for rent in a suit against the tenant by the heirs of second landlord, was erroneous, and that, to sanction such recovery, -« ould be giving a premium to falsehood and subject a tenant, who had done no wrong, to a double payment of rent.</p> <p>%. The maxim that a tenant shall not dispute the title of his landlord has no just application to such a case. A person having entered into possession of land under one, and who was induced to attorn to another under the belief and upon the claim of the latter that he has title, when sued for the rent by the heirs of such second landlord, may show in defense that his attornment had been procured by a false claim of title, and that the rent had been demanded and paid to the landlord from whom he derived his possession, as the rightful owner.</p> <p>8. It was contended that a new trial was taken in the ejectment suit after the eviction of the tenant, which the record failed to show. But it seems that such fact would not affect the merits of the case. Upon eviction in the suit, the tenant was liable for mesne profits, and having no guaranty of protection against such liability, and the landlord having failed to establish his claim by which he procured the attornment, the tenant was justified in regarding it as groundless and protecting himself from a prosecution for mesne profits.</p> <p>4. It seems that a tenant may show, in defense