Sigmund v. Howard Bank

*Brent, J., delivered the opinion of the court. This action was brought by the plaintiff, in the Superior Court of Baltimore City, to recover damages from the Howard Bank for the alleged violation of a contract, in failing to deliver possession of certain premises which had been leased to him by. the bank for the term of five years, from the 1st of July,11860. The lease is dated the 21st of March, i860, and contains no stipulations as to enjoyment and possession by the lessee. The law, however, implies an undertaking on the part of the lessor, that the lessee shall have the undisturbed possession of ³²⁸ the premises during the term for which they are demised, and the lessor is as fully hound as if there were an express covenant to that effect.

The extent and meaning of such a covenant, whether express or implied, is well settled and defined. It only imports that the lessor has such a title as enables him to make a valid and unencumbered lease, and that the possession and enjoyment of the premises will not be interrupted or interfered with by the lessor himself, or by any one rightfully claiming under him. It has never been regarded as a covenant, that the party shall enjoy against all pretending to claim any right, and implies no warranty against strangers or wrongdoers. On the 1st of July, i860, the day on -which the plaintiff, by the terms of his lease, had a right of entry and possession, it appears that the premises were occupied by a certain Moritz Bialla, who refused to surrender them, and the plaintiff, in consequence, was unable to enter.

The manner of Bialla’s holding thus becomes the subject of inquiry, and it is important to ascertain whether he held by a title superior to that of the lessee, or as a mere trespasser and wrong-doer. The defendant, upon this point, offered in evidence a lease under which Bialla had held as tenant of the bank, but which, by its terms, expired the day before the commencement of the plaintiff’s lease. To the admissibility of this evidence, objection wTas made, and *being admitted by the court, it forms the subject of the first exception. We have been unable to perceive any ground upon which the evidence should have been rejected.

The plaintiff had offered evidence of the possession of the premises by Bialla, and ivas aiming to fix the responsibility of the defendant as a consequence of such possession. His possession thus became the very gist of the controversy, and evidence, tending to show that he was a trespasser or wrong-doer, and that he was there without the authority and consent of the defendant, was clearly competent and pertinent to the issue. The fact that he had been a tenant of the defendant, and that his tenancy