Polack v. Pioche

Citations

• 35 Cal. 416

Syllabus

<p>Covenant op Tenant to Repair.—A general covenant of the tenant to repair the demised premises is binding upon the tenant under all circumstances, oven if the injury proceeds from the act of God, from the elements, or from the act. of a stranger.</p> <p>Idem.—If the tenant desires to relieve himself from liability for injuries resulting from any of said causes, he must except them from the operation of his covenant. Acts op God.—Those acts are to bo regarded, in a legal sense, as the acts of God which do not happen through human agency, such as storms, lightnings, and tempests. If it appears that an injury to the demised premises has been sustained in any way through the intervention of man, it is not the act of God. Damages by the Elememts.—The elements are the means through which God acts, and “ damages by the elements” are damages by the act of God.</p> <p>What Damages Tenant Bound to Repair.—If the embankment of a natural reservoir, which is filled with water by unusual rains, is broken by a stranger, so that the demised premises are injured by the water, the injury is not the act of God or of the elements, and the tenant is bound to repair, even if “damages by the elements or acts of Providence ” are excepted from his covenant.</p>