Automobile Supply Co. v. Scene-In-Action Corp.
340 Ill. 196, 172 N.E. 35 (1930)
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Rule of Law:
To successfully claim constructive eviction and be relieved of the duty to pay rent, a tenant must abandon the premises within a reasonable time after the landlord's breach of a covenant. A tenant who remains in possession for an unreasonable length of time after the breach waives the right to claim constructive eviction for that specific breach.
Facts:
- Automobile Supply Company leased the sixth floor of a building to Scene-in-Action Corporation for office and manufacturing purposes.
- The lease included a covenant requiring Automobile Supply Company to furnish steam heat during ordinary business hours.
- Scene-in-Action's business of creating electrical advertising signs required a comfortably heated environment for its employees and materials.
- From November 1927 through March 1928, Automobile Supply Company repeatedly failed to provide adequate heat, causing temperatures to drop below 50° Fahrenheit for hours at a time on numerous days.
- On February 20, 1928, after another heating failure, Scene-in-Action gave notice to Automobile Supply Company that it would terminate the lease and vacate the premises on April 30, 1928.
- The last specified instance of heating failure occurred on April 9, 1928, when the temperature remained below 50° until 11:30 AM.
- Scene-in-Action Corporation vacated the premises on April 30, 1928, and delivered the keys to the landlord's agent.
Procedural Posture:
- Automobile Supply Company obtained a judgment by confession for unpaid rent against Scene-in-Action Corporation in the trial court.
- Scene-in-Action Corporation filed a motion in the trial court to vacate the judgment.
- The trial court denied the motion to vacate the judgment.
- Scene-in-Action Corporation, as appellant, appealed the denial to the Appellate Court.
- The Appellate Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court.
- The Supreme Court of Illinois granted a writ of certiorari on the petition of Scene-in-Action Corporation to review the Appellate Court's decision.
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Issue:
Does a tenant's vacating of premises nearly three weeks after the landlord's last failure to provide adequate heat, and more than two months after giving notice to terminate, constitute a valid constructive eviction that relieves the tenant of the duty to pay further rent?
Opinions:
Majority - Mr. Chief Justice Dunn
No. The tenant is not relieved of the duty to pay rent because it failed to vacate the premises within a reasonable time after the landlord's breach, thereby waiving its right to claim constructive eviction. While a landlord's failure to provide heat as covenanted can constitute a constructive eviction, the tenant must abandon the premises as a result. By remaining in possession after the heating failures in November and December, Scene-in-Action waived those breaches. When a new breach occurred on February 20, the tenant did not have the right to declare a termination effective over two months later. The final breach occurred on April 9, and the tenant did not vacate until April 30. The tenant bore the burden of proving that this 21-day period was a reasonable time to vacate and failed to present facts to support this claim. Therefore, the abandonment was not legally justified, and the obligation to pay rent continued.
Analysis:
This case solidifies the critical 'reasonable time' element of the constructive eviction doctrine. It establishes that a tenant cannot indefinitely endure a landlord's breach and then choose a future date to terminate the lease at their convenience. The ruling places a clear burden on the tenant to act promptly by vacating if they intend to rely on a breach to end their rental obligations. This prevents tenants from using a past, waived issue as a pretext to break a lease later and provides landlords with a defense against delayed abandonment claims.
