Berland's Inc. of Tulsa v. Northside Village Shopping Center, Inc.

1972 OK 152, 506 P.2d 908, 1972 Okla. LEXIS 454
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedNovember 28, 1972
DocketNo. 44964
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 1972 OK 152 (Berland's Inc. of Tulsa v. Northside Village Shopping Center, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Berland's Inc. of Tulsa v. Northside Village Shopping Center, Inc., 1972 OK 152, 506 P.2d 908, 1972 Okla. LEXIS 454 (Okla. 1972).

Opinion

DAVISON, Vice Chief Justice:

This appeal brings this case before us for the third time. In the first appeal (Okl., 378 P.2d 860) we were concerned with the action of appellant, Berland’s Inc. of Tulsa, a corporation, (Berland) to rescind and cancel a lease of store space in a newly constructed shopping center, executed by appellee, Northside Village Shopping Center, Inc., a corporation (Northside) as lessor, to Berland, as lessee. In addition to Northside, Aetna Life Insurance Company, a corporation (Aetna) Northside’s mortgagee, was made a party defendant. What liability Aetna has in the premises has been reserved by the trial court for decision in a separate hearing. The lease, dated September 6, 1956, leased store space 60 feet by 50 feet, for a term of 15 years, in a building in a proposed shopping center to be built by Northside in accordance with a certain plot plan attached to the lease. The rental was $500.00 per month or 5% of gross sales, whichever was greater.

This plot plan (the original plan) indicated a definite and favorable relationship between the leased space, the North parking area, Froug’s Department Store, and the entrances to the parking area. This [910]*910favorable location of the store space portrayed in the original plan, induced Ber-land to execute the lease. “After learning with the other tenants from Northside that the parking and entrance arrangements of the shopping center were to be substantially revised, Berland refused to agree to the revised plans, but said it would take possession conditionally and would waive the parking requirement if the revised parking arrangements were found to be adequate. Berland did not find them to be adequate and after several meetings between Ber-land’s and Northside’s attorneys, and after Northside refused cancellation, Berland filed a suit to cancel the lease in December, 1958. The Supreme Court’s opinion, reversing the.judgment of the trial court and decreeing cancellation (378 P.2d 860), was based upon the uncontroverted fact “that the lease would not have been made if the breach had been expected or contemplated (378 P.2d 865 [4]).” Because Northside had refused cancellation, Ber-land was obliged to continue in possession and pay the rent stipulated in the lease. As indicated above, in 1957, Northside employed a new engineering firm and a revised parking plan was adopted later that vitiated certain favorable relationships for Berland that inhered in the original plan.

This violation of an important lease covenant prompted the action of Berland against Northside to rescind and cancel the lease of September 6, 1956.. The trial court, concluding Northside’s breach of the lease contract was not so substantial as to defeat the object of the lease and that the breach had been waived by Berland, denied rescission and cancellation. Berland appealed. After a careful and comprehensive review of the record, we, concluding the judgment of the trial court was clearly against the weight of the evidence, reversed the judgment of the trial court with directions to the trial court to render judgment in accordance with our view that the lease should have been rescinded and can-celled. The mandate directed the trial court to cause such reversal and remand to be shown of record and “to issue such process and take such other and further action as may be in accord with right and justice and said opinion.”

Upon the filing of the mandate in the trial court, Berland filed in the trial court its application for restoration to status quo. Thereafter, the trial court sustained North-side’s and Aetna’s motion to strike Ber-land’s application for restoration to status quo on the ground that our decision directing a rescission and cancellation of the lease precluded Berland from obtaining any judgment or relief of restoration to status quo, or any other relief except the judgment of rescission and cancellation of the lease.

This decision of the trial court prompted the second appeal of this case (Okl., 447 P.2d 768). On this appeal we held that restoration to status quo was left open by the mandate, State ex rel. Goldsborough v. Huston, Judge, 28 Okl. 718, 116 P. 161; that a court of equity will retain jurisdiction to administer complete relief, Watkins v. McComber, 208 Okl. 352, 256 P.2d 158, 162; Franklin v. Margay Oil Corporation, 194 Okl. 519, 153 P.2d 486, 500; that a rescission and cancellation puts the parties back in the same position in which they were prior to the making of the contract, Evans v. Brubaker, 207 Okl. 42, 247 P.2d 511, 513; that a return of the parties to status quo by restoring to each other everything of value received under the contract is what is required after rescission and cancellation, 15 O.S.1961, § 235.

Accordingly, we reversed the judgment of the trial court with directions to make the determination necessary to restore Ber-land and Northside to status quo.

After a review of the entire record in this case, including the testimony of witnesses sworn and examined in open court and the testimony of witnesses taken by deposition, the trial court, in restoring the parties to status quo, found and decreed:

(1) I. A. Jacobson has stipulated that any judgment entered herein against [911]*911Northside shall also go and be entered against him in his individual capacity;

(2) Berland should recover from North-side and from Jacobson the total rent paid by Berland to Northside in the sum of $29,750.00, with interest on each monthly payment from the first day of the month on which said payment was due at the rate of 6% per annum, less all offsets hereinafter allowed to Northside.

(3) Although Berland promptly sought rescission of the lease, Northside maintained that the lease was valid and binding in every respect and refused to terminate the lease and Berland, although seeking rescission, operated its store in the premises continuously from February 15, 1958, to March 1, 1963;

(4) The premises during Berland’s occupancy had a fair market rental value in the community and Berland, as a matter of law is required to restore to Northside the fair market rental value of the premises during the term of Berland’s occupancy. The fair market rental value of the premises for the first two years of Berland’s occupancy was $12,000.00, and for the remaining term was $13,312.50, or a total of $25,312.50, together with interest thereon at the rate of 6% per annum from the date on which said rent is due.

(5) Berland is not entitled to recover $1250.00 that Berland paid Northside at the rate of $250.00 per year for maintenance and lighting of the common area because these payments were considered in the trial court’s determination of the fair market rental value of the premises during Berland’s occupancy.

(6) In the operation of its shoe store, Berland installed fixtures, including trade fixtures, at a cost of $14,196.00 and made leasehold improvements in the amount of $1295.00, or a total investment of $15,491.-00. During its occupancy, Berland depreciated this investment to a cost of $10,000.-00 and immediately after the Supreme Court rescinded the lease of the store space from Northside to Berland, Berland sold the fixtures and improvements for $2000.00. Berland is not entitled to recover this loss from Northside.

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Bluebook (online)
1972 OK 152, 506 P.2d 908, 1972 Okla. LEXIS 454, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/berlands-inc-of-tulsa-v-northside-village-shopping-center-inc-okla-1972.