Service Oil Co. v. White

Service Oil Company (plaintiff) leased a vacant service station from Howard White (defendant) after inspecting the property and finding the pumps 15 feet from the property line, but after signing the lease and preparing to open, the city denied a canopy permit, revealing that White had previously conveyed the front ten feet of the property to the city, leaving the pumps only five feet from the property line — in violation of a city ordinance requiring ten feet — a fact White knew or should have known but never disclosed. Service Oil spent over $3,300 moving the pumps into compliance and sued White for reimbursement when he refused; the trial court found an implied guarantee of suitability in the lease's gas-station-use restriction and ruled for Service Oil with both actual and punitive damages, and White appealed.