Allen v. Gates

50 A. 1092, 73 Vt. 222, 1900 Vt. LEXIS 85
CourtSupreme Court of Vermont
DecidedSeptember 21, 1900
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 50 A. 1092 (Allen v. Gates) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Vermont primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Allen v. Gates, 50 A. 1092, 73 Vt. 222, 1900 Vt. LEXIS 85 (Vt. 1900).

Opinion

Watson, J.

The orator has filed his bill, seeking to restrain the defendants from the removal of a certain building. The defendants made answer, and evidence has been taken. We find that in May, 1889, Leverett F. Englesby and Fred N. Whitney entered into a written agreement by them signed, sealed, and witnessed, but not acknowledged, whereby Whitney leased of Englesby a piece of land 25 feet front by 50 feet deep, on College street in the City of Burlington, for the term of five years ending April x, 1894, at a monthly rent of nine dollars to be paid therefor. The lease contains,, among other things, provisions as- follows:

“The said Whitney is to have the right to build on said lot a wooden building practically in accordance with plans now drawn.* * * At the end of this agreement if the said Englesby and said Whitney cannot agree on a further arrangement, said Whitney shall have the right to remove said building within sixty days from the termination of this agreement, or to require of said Englesby that he buy said building at its exact cost less 20 per cent, and if he shall so require, said Englesby agrees to buy on said terms.”

Whitney went into possession of the land under the lease, and in accordance with its terms immediately erected a building thereon; and when the building was completed he rented part [225]*225of it and published the “Burlington Clipper” in the other part, and had the exclusive use of the building and remained in possession thereof throughout the term of the lease, paying monthly ground rent as thérein stipulated.

On March 8, 1894, Whitney notified Englesby that he should require him to take the building at the expiration of the lease according to the agreement. Englesby said that he was not then situated financially to take it and pay cash. Considerable correspondence was had between them touching the matter, resulting in an understanding that Whitney should collect the rents in his own interest; and he remained in possession of the building, looked after the renting of it, collected the rents, and paid the taxes and insurance thereon, until November 4, 1897, when he sold and conveyed it by warranty deed to the defendants under the name of the Burlington Granite Company, in consideration of $300 paid him therefor. This deed was recorded May 18, 1898. On April 21, 1893, Englesby gave a mortgage deed of the land thus leased, with other land, to George A. Eastman, conditioned for the payment of notes aggregating $25,000 and no mention was made in the mortgage of Whitney’s ownership of the building, nor of his having any interest therein. The mortgage was assigned to H. C. Ryan, May 8, 1893, and to the Massachusetts National Bank of Boston and the National Bank of Chester in this state, on March 1, 1894. Englesby conveyed the property by quit-claim deed to Charles T. Barney, May 28, 1896, and he conveyed it in like manner to Florence H. Englesby, the wife of Eeverett F., June 2, 1896. All of these conveyances and assignments were duly recorded.

At the March term, 1897, of the Court of Chancery in Chittenden County, the banks obtained a decree of foreclosure of the mortgage, which became absolute April 21, 1899, and a [226]*226certified copy thereof was recorded in the land records the day following. Florence H. Englesby, and the Howard National Bank a subsequent mortgagee, were made parties defendant in the foreclosure proceedings. Whitney was not made a party. Other persons became interested in the equity of redemption by conveyance, during the pendency of the suit, or before the decree became absolute, including the orator who was the owner thereof at the time of the commencement of the suit at bar, but, as such interests were barred by that decree, it is unnecessary to more particularly notice them. The banks conveyed the property to P. H. Elynn, May 8, 1899, and he conveyed the building in question to the orator June 21, 1899.

Prior to taking the assignment of the mortgage, the banks were fully informed concerning the agreement under which the building was erected, and knew that Whitney was in possession claiming to own it.

When the building was conveyed to the defendants, the key thereto was delivered to them, they went into possession, and made repairs thereon intending to- move their business thereinto; but in December following they were notified that the orator owned the property and they must pay a rent of $300 a year if they moved their business into the building. Thereupon the defendants made arrangements to move the building elsewhere, and were preparing so to do when this suit was brought and they were temporarily enjoined.

The purchase by Flynn was through the orator as his agent; and in the performance of his duties as such agent, and before the transaction was consummated or deed given, the orator acquired full knowledge of Whitney’s rights and interests in the property, and knew that he was in possession collecting rents in his own interest; and that Whitney thus remained in possession collecting rents until he sold and conveyed [227]*227to the defendants, was concurrently within the orator’s knowledge.

Under the provisions of the lease, Whitney had a right to erect the building on the land leased, aSnd at the end of the term, if the parties thereto could not agree on a further arrangement, he had the privilege of removing it within sixty days from the termination of the lease, or to- require of Englesby that he buy it at cost less 20 per cent, and if so required Englesby agreed to buy on those terms.

The question of when at common law a tenant may remove a building erected by him on the leased premises, and hold it as personalty, does not arise; for when the parties to 'a lease make specific provisions therein relative to the tenant’s erecting buildings or other structures on the property leased, and the time of removing the same or of otherwise disposing of them, such provisions are of binding force between the parties, and are controlling: Dame v. Dame, 38 N. H. 429; 75 Am. Dec. 195; Town of Lemington v. Stevens, 48 Vt. 38.

No other arrangements being made, Whitney required Englesby to take the building at the end of the term, and gave him notice to that effect, by force of which the building then became the property of Englesby and a part of the realty, and nothing remained to be done but for him to pay therefor, pursuant to the provisions of the lease, (Hood v. Hartshorn, 100 Mass. 117) ; but as he was not then in condition to pay in cash, an understanding was reached between them whereby Whitney was to collect the rents on the property in his own interest.

It is manifest that the parties intended thereby that Whitney should have such rents to apply towards the payment of the debt due him from Englesby for the building; and it was, in effect, an assignment of the rents and profits to Whitney as security for the debt, and created an equitable lien on the prop[228]*228erty in his favor, upon the maxim — Whenever persons agree concerning any particular subject, that a Court of Equity, as-against the party himself, and any claiming under him voluntarily or with notice, raises a trust.

In Legard v. Hodges, 3 Bro. Ch.

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Bluebook (online)
50 A. 1092, 73 Vt. 222, 1900 Vt. LEXIS 85, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/allen-v-gates-vt-1900.