Plaintiff lessor, a government agency, brought an action against defendant lessees for breach of a certain lease covenant. The Superior Court of Imperial County (California) sustained the lessor’s demurrer to the lessees’ assertions of waiver and estoppel and denied the lessees leave to amend. The lessees appealed.

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Overview

The lessees alleged that the covenant in their lease that provided that they were not to permit camping on the property was waived and that the lessor was equitably estopped from declaring a forfeiture of the lease the breach. The court held that, given the offers of proof of the lessees – that the lessor was aware of the camping and that the lessees took actions to prevent the camping to no avail, the trial court abused its discretion in refusing to permit them to amend the separate defenses alleged in their answer to which demurrers were sustained. Because the obligation on the lessees was to not permit camping, the trial court also erred in sustaining objections to certain of the offers of proof which were material to the issue whether there was “sufferance or permission” the lessees of the alleged camping. Evidence that the lessor’s directors believed it was impossible to prevent camping on the premises and required the lessees to remove a sign stating that camping not was permitted was material to a determination of whether the acts or omissions of the lessees constituted “sufferance or permission” of any camping upon the premises.

Outcome

The decision of the trial court was reversed.