Opinion ID: 2175182
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Appeal of Frank L. Pucci

Text: We address ourselves now to plaintiff's appeal, which he has briefed and argued under seven main points. We shall treat the appeal in like manner.
Under Point One of his brief plaintiff poses the following question: Does the mere recital of and reference to administrative proceedings under chapter 353 in the counterclaim state a sufficient cause of action on which a court can order demolition of Pucci's building, and to declare the premises a common law nuisance? He indicates no ruling of the trial justice to which he made objection nor any portion of the transcript where this question was raised in the court below. Although we have doubts as to whether this question is properly before us for review, see State v. Quattrocchi, 103 R.I. 115, 235 A.2d 99; Villa v. Hedge, 96 R.I. 52, 188 A.2d 904; Cottrell v. Lally, 94 R.I. 485, 182 A.2d 302, we shall assume for the purposes of this case that it is. As we understand him, plaintiff is contending in substance that defendant's counterclaim fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. He argues that the facts which have been incorporated by reference in the counterclaim relate back to a period from June 10, 1968, to July 15, 1968, and do not state that these facts existed at the time of the filing of the counterclaim on September 12, 1968; that nowhere in the counterclaim are there facts set forth showing an actual existing hazard or immediate threat of harm or danger to occupants of neighboring buildings or to thegeneral public, or showing that any harm was anticipated or was a reasonable consequence of the thing complained against, or that the injury would have been tangible and substantial; that neither are there allegations set forth that the damage was irreparable and that demolition was the only remedy, and that the remedyfor abatement of common law nuisances in controlled by G. L. 1956, § 10-1-1. In our judgment there is no merit to any of the arguments made by plaintiff in Point One of his brief. Rule 10 (c) of the Rules of Civil Procedure of the Superior Court provides for adoption by reference: Statements in a pleading may be adopted by reference in a different part of the same pleading or in another pleading or in any motion. A copy of any written instrument which is an exhibit to a pleading is a part thereof for all purposes. Exhibits A and B attached to plaintiff's complaint and expressly incorporated by reference in defendant's counterclaim negate substantially all of the claims made by plaintiff in his present argument. The incorporation by reference of these exhibits repleads all allegations contained therein as of the time of the filing of the counterclaim, including allegations pertaining to the existing conditions of the property and that the same constituted a harzard to the health, safet, and welfare of the occupants of neighboring buildings and the general public and a public nuisance. The counterclaim also sets forth that defendant is the building official and that he acted pursuant to the provision of chap. 353 of the ordiances. Section 7(2) of chap. 353 empowers the court to grant the relief requested in the counterclaim and authorizes the relief sought by defendant building official. From the above it is apparent that the counterclaim, by virtue of incorporation by reference, sets out conditions which existed at the time of its filing, the capacity and authority under which defendant was operating, and the authority under which relief could be granted pursuant to the ordinance and the enabling act. The answer to plaintiff's claim, that the Superior Court could not consider the matter before it as constituting a nuisance at common law because there had been no compliance with § 10-1-1, is that the remedy set forth therein is neither exclusive nor mandatory. That section provides that Whenever a nuisance is alleged to exist, the attorney-general or any citizen of the state may bring a bill in equity   . Moreover, since the Court had obtained jurisdiction of the subject matter under the enabling act, it could retain it for the purpose of administering full relief. See Sparne v. Altshuler, 80 R.I. 96, 105, 90 A.2d 919, 923, reargument denied, 80 R.I. 107, 91 A.2d 676, and Bosworth v. Johnson, 45 R.I. 86, 88-89, 119 A. 753, 754.
In Point Two of his brief plaintiff asks the following question: Must the language of Chapter 353 and the Enabling Act be strictly construed as they are in derogation of common law? The plaintiff argues that sec. 2 of chap. 353 does not require the standards contained therein to be adhered to. (See appendix II.) He relies on the first sentence in sec. 2, which reads: The owner of every non-residential building shall maintain any non-residential building or part thereof to comply with the following agreements   . He contends that there is no evidence that plaintiff agreed to these standards and that, in the absence of any agreement, there can be no violation. The general rule is that statutes in derogation of the common law must be strictly construed. However, that rule is not applicable here because of the express language of the statute in question. P.L. 1968, chap. 67, sec. 12 provides: This act shall be construed most favorable to the town of Westerly, its intention being to give same community the fullest and most complete powers possible concerning the subject matter hereof. Moreover, there can be no doubt that in enacting this statute the legislature intended to give the town of Westerly all the power necessary to enable it to carry out the purpose of the act. (See appendix III.) The plaintiff contends, however, that where the language of a statute is plain and unambiguous there is no occasion for construction, and that the statute must be given effect according to its plain and obvious meaning. Since here the ordinance uses the word agreements, plaintiff argues that the word must be given its literal meaning. We agree with the statement of the rule, Brown & Sharpe Mfg. Co. v. Dean, 89 R.I. 108, 116-117, 151 A.2d 354, 358, but do not agree that it applies here. The meaning which plaintiff argues should be given to sec. 2 is neither a sensible nor a reasonable one in view of the plain purpose of the act and the clear legislative intent. Words used in a statute must be given a reasonable and sensible construction to carry out, if possible, the legislative purpose and intent. As the court said in Cabral v. Hall, 102 R.I. 320, at 323, 230 A.2d 250, at 252:    a literal reading, though presumptively giving the correct sense of a statute    may and should be ignored if it does not convey a sensible meaning    or where it contradicts and defeats an evident legislative purpose   . To adopt plaintiff's meaning would defeat the clear legislative intent. The plaintiff's next argument under Point Two is that the substance of sec. 2 of the ordinance has very little relation to the health, safety or welfare of the occupants of any neighboring building or the general public. Such an attack on the standards prescribed by the ordinance is so lacking in merit as to warrant no consideration.
The plaintiff next contends that, where a counterclaim is brought for alleged violation of the standards set forth in chap. 353, evidence of alleged violations of other codes of the town is inadmissible. Under Rule 46 of the Rules of Civil Procedure of the Superior Court plaintiff noted his objections to all lines of questioning with respect to violations of any ordinances of the town other than chap. 353. The plaintiff also objected to the admission in evidence of chap. 284, the Westerly Building Code, and a certain Stop Work Order, as well as evidence with respect thereto. The trial justice overruled his objections, noting that he did not think that the parties were limited only to chap. 353. The plaintiff claims that the trial justice considered these violations in his decision, even though their introduction was in error because they were not material to the issues of this case. After reading the decision of the trial justice, we are satisfied that the evidence in question was material and germane to the issues before the trial justice. He stated during the course of the trial that it was necessary to consider plaintiff's attitude in deciding whether or not demolition of the building should be ordered in the event that the premises were found to be in violation of chap. 353. In the circumstances we find no error in his rulings allowing evidence of violations of other town ordinances.
Under Point Four plaintiff contends that the trial justice erred in ordering the demolition of plaintiff's property without giving him a reasonable opportunity to make repairs if they were deemed necessary. He argues that, since this was an equitable proceeding, the trial justice should have taken into consideration the facts as they existed at the time of the hearing; that if a person had substantially corrected the faults which he was alleged to have committed, especially where there had been no harm or damage to anyone in the interim, there was no further cause of action, and that courts do not order destruction of property if it is practical otherwise to remove the nuisance. With respect to the facts of the case at bar, he asserts that at no time during the trial was there any evidence that it was necessary to demolish this property in order to eliminate any potential hazard; that the undisputed facts show that plaintiff had done a considerable amount of work on the property; that he was proceeding to put up a new roof and continuing his work until the court enjoined him; and that a comparison of the facts set forth in defendant's June 10, 1968 notice to plaintiff and exhibit 15, [2] dated October 10, 1968, as well as the pictures, clearly show that improvements had been made. The plaintiff points out that the trial justice stated in his decision that the facts set forth in the June 10, 1968, notice existed at that time, and that the facts set out in exhibit 15 existed on October 10, 1968, but that the trial justice gave plaintiff no credit for all his efforts. He also argues that the trial justice disregarded defendant's testimony that the then present condition of the interior of the building did not constitute any danger to the occupants of any neighboring buildings or to the public. Finally, he claims that it was obvious that all the items complained of could have been repaired without the necessity of destruction of this property and that it was error for the trial justice to disregard the undisputed facts. We have given due consideration to all of the claims made by plaintiff under this point and agree with his statement of the applicable law. We do not, however, agree with his statement of the facts. To answer all of the arguments made by plaintiff would unduly prolong this opinion. As we view the record, the evidence with respect to some of the more important aspects of this case is directly conflicting. We are faced with a situation where plaintiff purchased this property with knowledge of its condition and the many orders against it by the local authorities. The trial justice, in considering what remedy should be applied if he found that the building constituted a nuisance, was warranted in considering the plaintiff's attitude and conduct in relation to his good faith in complying with the local ordinances and with the orders issued by the local authorities on the authority of such ordinances. The trial justice concluded that the repairs which plaintiff had been ordered to make were necessary and that plaintiff had been given a reasonable opportunity to make them. His findings are supported by the evidence and, therefore, will not be disturbed by this court unless they are shown to be clearly wrong or unless the trial justice, in making such findings, overlooked or misconceived any material evidence. Mateer v. Mateer, 105 R.I. 735, 254 A.2d 417. The burden is on plaintiff and in our judgment he has not sustained that burden. Plantations Bank v. Desormier, 102 R.I. 565, 568, 232 A.2d 371, 373.
Under Point Five plaintiff contends that the trial justice erred in deciding that the building on plaintiff's land was a hazard under the provisions of chap. 353 and a common-law nuisance. Some of the arguments made by plaintiff here are repetitive and have already been considered and determined in our discussion of Point Four and, therefore, require no further discussion. We consider plaintiff's claim that defendant failed to sustain his burden of proving that the building involved was a hazard or danger to anyone under chap. 353 or that it was a common-law nuisance. In his decision the trial justice stated that he was proceeding both under the enabling act and the general equity powers of the court. He found that the building was at least 50 years old and extremely obsolete, but he noted that that alone would not determine that it was a nuisance. He then reviewed the background history of this property and plaintiff's relationship to it, including the prior violations of the building code by the previous owners and plaintiff's knowledge thereof. He found that whatever repairs or improvements had been made by plaintiff were not substantial, but had been made merely for the purpose of painting up or camouflaging the basic defects of the property. He did not believe plaintiff's testimony that he had spent $2,000 in repairing the property. He also found that the building had not been occupied for at least 10 years and noted that this indicated that it was not usable and that the longstanding non-use must have had an effect on the deterioration. After pointing out some of the defects in the building, he said that, while it might be said that some of these defects affected the property itself, the fact was that, if this house collapsed or if there were a fire in the house, the whole neighborhood would have been affected. He found that there were no utilities in the building; that it was just a bare shell of a structure; and that the land without the building was worth more than with the building, because the building was a liability to the property in its then condition. He expressly found that the building was in violation of specific sections of sec. 2 of chap. 353. After reviewing the evidence, he concluded that the building was a nuisance as the term is defined at common law and also under the ordinance definition. It was a nuisance, he said, because it was a hazard not only to the surrounding property, but also to the general public. In deciding what to do about the structure, the trial justice found that nothing had been done that would make the building safe either for the property itself or for the surrounding area; that it was a target for vandalism; that so much had to be done to the building, and that the only thing that could be done would be to start all over by tearing it down because the day of patching up was gone. He also considered whether the demolition of the building would deprive plaintiff of a valuable piece of property. He found, as we have previously stated, that there was no value to the building; that, if anything, it had a minus value because it reduced the value of the land; and that, since he did not accept plaintiff's testimony as to the value of the improvements made by him, he found that plaintiff would not suffer any loss at all and, therefore, there was no taking without just compensation. In our opinion defendant sustained his burden of proving that plaintiff's building was so lacking in the standards prescribed in chap. 353, sec. 2 as to be a hazard to the health, safety and welfare of the occupants of neighboring buildings and the general public, and, therefore, the trial justice was warranted in finding that the building constituted a public nuisance under the ordinance. By enacting P.L. 1968, chap. 67, the legislature has declared that the mere existence of certain conditions will create a nuisance subject to relief. As we have already said, the findings of the trial justice are supported by the evidence. The evidence also supports the finding that the building constituted a common-law nuisance. See 66 C.J.S. Nuisances § 1, and 39 Am. Jur. Nuisances § 2. Seidner, Inc. v. Ralston Purina Co., 67 R.I. 436, 24 A.2d 902, and Commerce Oil Refining Corp. v. Miner, 281 F.2d 465 (1st Cir.1960), cert. denied, 364 U.S. 910, 81 S.Ct. 274, 5 L.Ed.2d 225, both cited by plaintiff, are factually distinguishable from the case at bar and are not in point. Those cases involved structures which were not yet in being, whereas here we are confronted with a building already in existence. The building in the instant case was described as unsafe and as just about holding itself up. The floors were described as being in danger of collapse; the condition of the foundation was questionable; and the roof was said to constitute a fire hazard. These defects, in addition to many others which are disclosed by the evidence, support a finding of the existence of a common-law nuisance. The plaintiff has failed to persuade us that the findings of the trial justice are clearly wrong or that in making such findings he overlooked or misconceived any material fact. Plantations Bank v. Desormier, supra. Nor has plaintiff shown us wherein the trial justice misconceived the applicable law. In such circumstances we do not disturb his findings.
The plaintiff's next claim of error is the trial justice's refusal to permit him to argue at the end of all the testimony. The plaintiff points to several incidents during the trial when points of law were raised which he wished to argue. The trial justice asked him to proceed with the testimony, stating at the same time that there would be a chance to argue at the conclusion of the case. At the end of the testimony the trial justice refused plaintiff's request to argue some points of law, saying that he had listened to this case a good deal, had studied the law, and would rule on the case that day. The plaintiff concedes that the right to argue in a nonjury case is discretionary with the Court. However, he argues that the trial justice's refusal in the circumstances of this case amounced to an abuse of discretion, especially since he was not even given a chance to state what his argument would be. On this record we cannot see how the denieal of an opportunity to make a final argument prejudiced him in any way. The plaintiff madeno offer as to that which he would have arugued to the trial justice. That offer being absent there is nothing for this court to review, and we can only speculate that the denial, assuming it to be error, was prejudicial, See Atlantic, Refining Co. v. Director of Public Works, 102 R.I. 696, 233 A.2d 423. Under our practice the conduct of a trial in the Superior Court is left to the sound discretion of the trial justice. The expeditious handling of a trial requies this. In the absence of a showing of prejudice, we can not say that the questioned ruling in this case constituted an abuse of discretion.
The plaintiff in Point Seven, poses the following question: Is it error for the court to direct a witness, who kept no notes or records of his inspection, during cross-examination to prepare, with assistance of counsel, a written memorandum of what is allegedly wrong with the pucci property, and then to admit such document (Exhibit 15) into evidence? It appears that while defendant was under cross-examination, the trial justice suggested that defendant prepare, overnight, for the next session of court, a list of items which were then in violation of chap. 353. It appears from the trascript that plaintiff agreed to this procedure. The defendant prepared the memorandum with the help of his counsel. The defendant dictated to his counsel who, in turn, dictated to his secretary for typing. The memorandum was subsequently introduced in evidence over plaintiff's objection as defedat's exhibit 15, and his motion to strike was denied. Exhibit 15 itemizes the various violations of chap. 353 which defendant testified then existed. The plaintiff argues that the trial justice clearly abused his discretion in allowing the admission of this memorandum during cross-examination and in permitting defendant to use it to refresh his recollection, especially because it was prepared with counsel's help and because the trial justice gave much weight to and relied on all the facts set forth in the memorandum and cited it in support of his findings. A reading of the pertinent portions of the transcript satisfies us that the trial justice did not abuse his discretion in admitting exhibit 15 or in allowing defendant to refer to it while he testified. It is obvious that the trial justice was convinced that the statements in the memorandum were defendant's and that they were true. His reason for requesting the preparation of the statement was to aid the court in understanding his testimony about the condition of the building at that time. This was information which he needed to determine the remedy, if a nuisance were found to exist.