Herbert v. Rainey

Citations

• 162 Pa. 525
• 29 A. 725
• 1894 Pa. LEXIS 1011

Syllabus

<p>Life estate — Damages—Discomfort caused by coke ovenst</p> <p>A life tenant who suffers inconvenience and discomfort in the occupancy of his house by reason of coke ovens wrongfully built on a street in front of his premises is entitled to recover the entire rental value of the property during the time ovens are maintained, if the premises during such time have been untenantable.</p> <p>If the smoke and dust are so offensive as to justify his removal and render his home of no value to him during the time, the fact that he remained rather than incur the trouble of the removal would not prevent his recovering the entire rental value of the premises. In addition to this he would be entitled to add any specific items of injury done by the smoke to his furniture or to the house itself.</p> <p>Evidence — Competency 'of witnesses — Duty of court— Practice.</p> <p>In such a case a witness who has seen the premises but once while the ovens were in operation and then only as a traveler along the highway, is not qualified to speak of the effect of the smoke and dust upon the inmates of the house or of the extent to which the house was made untenantable thereby.</p> <p>Where in such a case a witness estimates the loss to the holder of the life estate during less than one year at a sum fifteen times greater than the entire value of the property, it is error for the court not to caution the jury as to the worthlessness of the testimony.</p>