Court Opinion

ID: 9545758
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 17:19:15.695366+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:15:31.341363
License: Public Domain

HOWE, Associate Chief Justice
(concurring and dissenting):
I concur in all of the majority opinion except in that part which holds that the trial court’s determination that there had not been a constructive eviction of Mutual is supported by the evidence. In my opinion, the uncontroverted evidence of the noise created by Intermountain and its effect on Mutual demonstrate that a constructive eviction did occur. Testimony from both Mutual and Intermountain personnel is in substantial agreement as to the frequency and intensity of the noise. It clearly met the standard for a constructive eviction established by our case law, i.e., that the landlord’s actions or failure to act deprives the tenant of the beneficial enjoyment of the demised premises or materially *910impairs such enjoyment. Barker v. Utah Oil Refining Co., Ill Utah 308, 178 P.2d 386 (1947). The trial court’s refusal to so find is “clearly erroneous” even when due deference is given to that court’s opportunity to judge the credibility of the witnesses. Utah R.Civ.P. 52(a). The trial court’s determination that there was not a constructive eviction is a conclusion of law which is not entitled to any deference by us. Zions First National Bank v. National American Title Insurance Co., 749 P.2d 651 (Utah 1988). The trial court also erred in employing an erroneous standard when it relied on the fact that the noise and other cumulative acts of plaintiffs did not cause any loss of business.
Mutual leased about 60 percent of the main floor of plaintiffs’ building. Two weeks later, plaintiffs leased the balance of the space on that floor to Intermountain. Both tenants had to use a common entry and hallway, and employees and clients of Mutual had to pass by the entrance of Intermountain to reach the entrance of Mutual’s space. Mutual conducted an insurance business which included rendering service to policyholders and selling insurance to prospective buyers. In contrast, Intermountain used its space mainly to instruct and motivate salespersons and sales trainees to sell housewares door to door. Testimony was adduced from agents and employees of Mutual and from principals and agents of Intermountain that three days each week up to 45 salespersons and trainees were crowded into a room adjoining Mutual’s space for training sessions at Intermountain’s offices in the building.
During the course of the training sessions, Mutual’s beneficial enjoyment of its leased premises was materially impaired by the following acts of Intermountain: Instructors of Intermountain would conduct a motivational exercise known as a “fire-up” drill in which the participants would, in unison, clapping and shouting out loud, count backward from number ten down to one, followed by a shout, “I feel great!” This was followed by loud clapping, cheering, and the stamping of feet. On one occasion, the instructor threw a pie in the face of someone to get the participants’ attention and interest. Applause and loud laughter occurred at other times in response to stimuli from the instructor. Loud stereo rock music was played to create an atmosphere compatible with the young trainees. Intermountain freely used the hall leading to Mutual’s rented space for the purpose of serving refreshments to participants during break times. Also, registration tables were set up in the hallway, and trainees were permitted to engage in practice sessions with one another in the hall. The large number of participants at times overloaded available restrooms and, on some occasions, used all the paper towels and littered the floor. Intermountain placed in the hall boxes of merchandise which were to be sold or delivered to salespersons or customers. One witness described the hallway as looking like a warehouse. The participants at times filled up the building’s parking lot, as well as all available nearby street parking.
All of this conduct by Intermountain was highly disruptive to Mutual and worked to deprive it of the quiet enjoyment of its leased premises to which it was entitled. As employees and clients of Mutual would attempt to make their way through the hall during training sessions, they would on occasion be stopped or directed by Inter-mountain personnel into the sales and training sessions. When loud noise would emanate from Intermountain’s premises, Mutual would have to terminate its activities until the disturbance ceased. Mutual’s employees and agents had to either stop or delay their telephone conversations and sales presentations they were making to prospective buyers and apologize for the disruption. Employees and clients of Mutual experienced difficulty in finding parking places when the training sessions were being conducted. The overuse of the restrooms by Intermountain deprived Mutual of a clean and well-supplied facility.
During the sixteen months that Mutual occupied plaintiffs’ building, it made numerous complaints to them about Inter-mountain’s conduct. Beginning on June 10, 1981, Mutual sent a series of letters to plaintiffs complaining primarily of the *911noise. Other letters were sent on August 5, October 12, November 17, and December 15. In the last letter, Mutual requested that plaintiffs take appropriate action to correct the noise situation immediately and gave notice that should disturbances continue after five days, Mutual would consider the lease to be breached and would vacate the premises. Plaintiffs early on took the position that there was nothing improper about Intermountain’s conduct and operation, but they did meet with the principals of Intermountain on several occasions and finally had their attorney write Intermountain, requesting that it cease and desist from further noise. Intermountain temporarily did desist from creating loud noise and agreed that it would not conduct “fire-up” drills with their salespeople before 5:30 p.m., by which time most of Mutual’s employees had left the building. However, two principals of Intermountain and two of its salespersons testified that in January 1982, they broke that agreement. One of the principals admitted that he conducted several fire-up drills in January pri- or to 5:30 p.m. just to “ruffle the feathers” of Mutual’s manager. Finally, on February 12, 1982, Mutual paid its rent current and moved from the building, giving notice to plaintiffs that its request as contained in its letter of December 15 had not been met.
The trial court made no findings as to the quantum or frequency of the noise, but concluded simply that “although the court finds the noise made by Intermountain Marketing was distracting to defendants, it was not of sufficient magnitude to warrant abandonment of the leased premises.” With that conclusion I cannot agree. It is not clear just how much noise the trial court thought a tenant must tolerate before there is a breach of the covenant of the lease that the tenant may have quiet possession and enjoyment, such as was contained in the lease here. Our case law is clear that constructive eviction occurs when the tenant is deprived of the beneficial enjoyment of the demised premises or his enjoyment is materially impaired. Barker v. Utah Oil Refining Co., 111 Utah at 312, 178 P.2d at 388. One cannot read the record in this case without being impressed that Mutual was long-suffering and endured unnecessary outbursts of noise from its adjoining tenant at least from June 1981 to February 1982. The testimony at trial from six agents and secretaries of Mutual and from four principals and salesmen from Intermountain was that the loud outbursts of noise continued unabated right up to the time Mutual vacated. Mutual took recordings of some of the outbursts of noise and documented them as to dates and times.
One of the plaintiffs, Mrs. Reid, had an office on the second floor above Intermoun-tain and testified that while she could hear the' outbursts of noise, the sounds were muffled. This was the entire extent of plaintiffs’ rebuttal to Mutual’s and Inter-mountain’s testimony respecting the intensity of the noise. Undoubtedly the noise was muffled when it reached Mrs. Reid because there was a solid cement floor separating the second floor from the main floor. While plaintiffs disputed that parking was a problem, they did not contradict the testimony of several Mutual agents that the frequent outbursts of noise were so upsetting that they did not attempt to conduct any sales work on the premises, but were forced to visit prospective buyers in their homes. Mutual’s space and Inter-mountain’s space were separated only by a thin portable wall installed over the carpet. One of the principals of Intermountain testified that its business and Mutual’s business “clashed.” He stated that Mutual was endeavoring to conduct a professional business on a different level from that of Intermountain. Mutual did not make a hasty decision to vacate but exhausted all of its resources and patience to solve the disruption. But despite its pleas and plaintiffs’ attempts, the operation of the two side-by-side businesses was simply not compatible. The trial judge erred in requiring Mutual to tolerate and suffer more noise than it had already endured.
The trial court also based its decision in part on the faulty premise that Mutual had not shown that it had lost any business. Our cases do not require that such a showing be made to constitute a constructive *912eviction. Barker v. Utah Oil Refining Co., Ill Utah at 312, 178 P.2d at 388, held that there is a constructive eviction when the landlord, without intent to oust the tenant, “does some act which deprives the tenant of the beneficial enjoyment of the demised premises or materially impairs such enjoyment.” That is all that is required, and the fact that Mutual did not attempt to prove any loss of business is immaterial.
I would reverse the judgment entered below and remand the case to the trial court with instructions to dismiss plaintiffs’ complaint.
STEWART, J., concurs in the concurring and dissenting opinion of HOWE, Associate C.J.