Keystone Trust Co. v. Aaronson

51 Pa. D. & C. 273, 1944 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 166

This text of 51 Pa. D. & C. 273 (Keystone Trust Co. v. Aaronson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Dauphin County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Keystone Trust Co. v. Aaronson, 51 Pa. D. & C. 273, 1944 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 166 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1944).

Opinion

Hargest, P. J.,

This case comes before us upon a rule to strike off a judgment entered upon the assumed authority contained in the lease.

The facts are that on April 1,1941, the Levin Building Company was the owner of a dwelling house. It entered into a lease with defendants for a term of one year from April 15,1941, to April 14,1942. The lease contained the usual provision that continuing in possession would operate as a renewal at the option of the lessor, and provided that in case of sale the lessees would vacate the premises upon 60 days’ notice. It also provided: “The conditions of this agreement shall extend to the administrators and executors of all the parties hereto.” On June 17, 1943, the premises were [274]*274sold by Levin Building Company to Keystone Trust Company. On April 20, 1943, an assignment of “all its right, title, and interest” of the Levin Building Company to the Keystone Trust Company was endorsed on the lease. On August 12, 1943, an amicable action in ejectment was entered in behalf of the Keystone Trust Company against defendants, which was followed by a rule to strike off the judgment, to which rule plaintiff filed an answer. The files contain a copy of a letter from the Harrisburg Defense Rental Area to counsel for plaintiff, requesting a discontinuance of the action in ejectment. The action was not discontinued but nothing further was done thereunder. On November 5, 1943, by virtue of the warrant of attorney contained in the lease, judgment was confessed in the sum of $100 in default of the rent due for the month of August 1943. A petition to strike off this judgment and stay execution was presented, to which an answer was filed; and it is the validity of this judgment which is now before us.

Discussion

Two questions are raised in this proceeding:

1. Whether, having entered the judgment of ejectment, the power was exhausted and there was no right to enter the judgment for rent. There is no merit in this objection. The lease contains an authority to confess a judgment in an amicable action of ejectment, and also to confess a judgment for the rent due. This authority is in two separate paragraphs and plainly gives the right to two different and separate kinds of judgment.

2. The second question is of interest, namely, whether the right to confess a judgment for rent passes to the owner of the reversion with or without assignment; in other words, whether the authority to enter such a judgment runs with the land. The Pennsylvania authorities differ.

[275]*275In Youghiogheny-Pittsburgh Coal Co. v. Carlet, 92 Pa. Superior Ct. 40, which involved a conveyance of the reversion without an assignment of the lease, it was held that the right to enter judgment in ejectment ran with the land and was vested in the owner of the reversion. It was held (p. 44) :

“The usual test for determining whether the covenant under consideration runs with the land seems to be that if the covenant in the lease will be of benefit either to the landlord or tenant by reason of his relation to the particular land then it touches or concerns the land so as to run.”

In a number of cases, some of which, however, did not involve the entry of an amicable action for rent, and some of which contained a formal assignment of the lease, it was definitely held that a covenant to pay runs with the land: Negley v. Morgan, 46 Pa. 281 (1863) ; Borland’s Appeal, 66 Pa. 470 (1870); Bradford Oil Co. v. Blair, 113 Pa. 83 (1886); Washington N. Gas Co. v. Johnson et al., 123 Pa. 576 (1888); Fennell v. Guffey, 139 Pa. 341, 155 Pa. 38 (1890); Williams v. Short, 155 Pa. 480; Johns v. Winters, 251 Pa. 169; Lyon v. Pittsburgh, Allegheny & Manchester Traction Company et al., 312 Pa. 584; Gluck et al., to use, v. Polakoff et al., 17 D. & C. 640.

In Fennell v. Guffey, supra, it was said (p. 344) :

“The' defendant contends . . . that the suit should have been brought against his assignor. But the covenant was in the nature of a covenant to pay rent, and runs with the land. It is settled law that covenants to pay rent or royalty run with the land, and that the assignee of the lease is liable for the payment of all rents or royalties which accrued while he held the assignment of the lease.” (Italics supplied.)

When the case reached the Supreme Court the second time (155 Pa. 38), the same contention was made, and again overruled.

[276]*276In Johns v. Winters, supra, it was said (p. 173) :

“It was further contended by counsel for the plaintiff that the covenant making the whole rent become due, if any part of the same remained unpaid for a period of thirty days, was a personal covenant between the original lessor and lessee and that it was not binding upon Spitznogle, the assignee of the lessee. We do not think that this position is tenable. It has been repeatedly held that a covenant to pay rent or royalty runs with the land and is binding upon the assignee of the lease during the time that he holds possession of it
“If the covenant to pay rent runs with the land and is binding upon the assignee of the lease during the time that he is in possession of the premises, then he must be bound to pay the rent in the manner and on the terms and conditions set forth in the lease.”

In Gluck et al., to use, v. Polakoff et al., 17 D. & C. 640, 642 (1933), Judge Kun made a somewhat exhaustive examination.of the authorities, and said:

“From the above authorities, it is apparent that when a lessor assigns the lease without the reversion the relation of landlord and tenant exists between the assignee and the lessee and there is created in the assignee a vested right to collect rent and to enforce the covenants and provisions of the lease with respect thereto. One of the provisions of the lease which would enable the assignee to enforce the covenant to pay rent would, it seems, be the right to enter judgment for the rent, and the judgment might be sustained on this theory notwithstanding the excellent argument made on behalf of defendants to the contrary.”

While most of these cases arose from oil leases and involved the right of the assignees, and some of them were suits rather than amicable entry of judgment, yet the reasoning of all of them is applicable, and there [277]*277seems to be no distinguishing characteristic by which they could be set apart in a class by themselves and from which the positive language that the covenant to pay rent runs with the land, in each instance, could be construed to relate only to the particular case.

However, against the principle stated in the foregoing cases, we have a line of cases directly to the contrary.

In Duff et al. v. Star Service Hanger Co., 79 Pitts. L. J. 176, where the judgment was entered for rent due under the terms of the lease, it is said:

“It seems to be settled in the law of Pennsylvania that the conveyance of land under lease carries with it only such covenants as run with the land: Fogerty v. Dix, 75 Sup. Ct. 214; Baker v. Deuser, 49 Sup. Ct. 215; Pennsylvania Law of Real Estate, Nicholson, Sec. 383.
“. . . And it is assumed by such authorities as have been called to our attention that the warrant of attorney in a lease to confess judgment does not run with the land: Hockley v. McGlinn, 40 Legal Int.

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Related

Lyon v. Pittsburgh, Allegheny & Manchester Traction Co.
169 A. 229 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1933)
Hogsett v. Lutrario
13 A.2d 902 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1940)
Youghiogheny-Pittsburgh Coal Co. v. Carlet
92 Pa. Super. 40 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1927)
Shappell v. Himelstein
183 A. 644 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1935)
Negley v. Morgan
46 Pa. 281 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1863)
Borland's Appeal
66 Pa. 470 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1870)
Bradford Oil Co. v. Blair
4 A. 218 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1886)
Washington N. Gas Co. v. Johnson
16 A. 799 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1889)
Fennell v. Guffey
20 A. 1048 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1891)
Fennell v. Guffey
25 A. 785 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1893)
Williams v. Short
26 A. 662 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1893)
Johns v. Winters
96 A. 130 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1915)

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Bluebook (online)
51 Pa. D. & C. 273, 1944 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 166, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/keystone-trust-co-v-aaronson-pactcompldauphi-1944.