Respini v. Porta

Citations

• 89 Cal. 464
• 26 P. 967
• 1891 Cal. LEXIS 838

Syllabus

<p>Landlord and Tenant — Abandonment of Leased Premises — Reletting— Surrender.—Where a tenant abandons the leased premises without the consent of his landlord, the taking possession of the premises by the landlord against his wish, and the reletting of the property thereafter to another tenant, do not constitute a surrender and termination of the lease.</p> <p>Id.—Election by Landlord — Reletting — Damages for Abandonment. — A landlord, upon a wrongful abandonment of the leased premises by the tenant, may elect not to meddle with the property and recover the full rent for the term; but if he relets the premises to , another tenant, he can recover as damages for the breach only the difference between the rent he was to receive and the rent actually received from the subsequent tenant, provided there has been good faith in the reletting.</p> <p>Id. —Construction of Code.— The right of a landlord to damages for the abandonment of the leased premises by the tenant is measured by the provisions of section 3300 and not by section 3302 of the Civil Code.</p> <p>Id.—Action for Damages — Pleading — Limitation of Relief.— The fact that between the time of the abandonment of the premises and the trial of the action the amount of damage resulting from the lessee’s breach of his obligation had increased would not warrant the trial court in allowing for loss upon any subsequent installments of rent, where no claim was made in the complaint for anything beyond the amount of the first installment of rent falling due after the abandonment.</p>