Lent v. Curtis

14 Ohio C.C. Dec. 592, 2 Ohio C.C. (n.s.) 558, 1902 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 166
Lucas Circuit Court·Decided February 3, 1902·Published·Cited by 1 cases

Opinion

PARKER, J.

This case is here on appeal. It was brought in the court of common pleas of this county in the year 1891. It has been dragging along for something over ten .years for some reason not explained, but it has but recently come into this court.

It is an action upon the part of Mr. Lent, who was at one time a [593] tenant of Mr. Curtis, and one Peter H. Birkhead, to recover the value of a certain building which he erected uppn premises that were leased to him by them; and conceding that they would have certain claims against him to offset in a measure his claim for the value of the building, he asks for an accounting, and a judgment for the remainder.

It appears that Mr. Lent became the tenant of Curtis & Birkhead ■of a vacant lot on Summit street, in this city, under a lease dated March 25, 1875. By the terms of the lease, it was let from July 1, 1875, to July 1, 1890. Mr. Lent was to pay a rental of $1,000 per year, payable in quarterly installments; but the lease contains a provision that at the expiration of five years there shall be an appraisement of the premises exclusive of the building which Mr. Lent agreed to put upon the lot, and that thereafter he shall pay for the succeeding five years at a rate equal to six per cent, upon the appraised value of the premises; provided, however, that the rent shall not fall below $1,000 a year. And there is a similar provision as to the next succeeding period of five years, beginning with 1885. The lease contains a provision as to the erection of a building upon the premises, and as to compensation therefor at the expiration of the term, which I shall read:

“Said party .of the second part agrees to improve said premises by erecting a building thereon at a cost,of not less than $6,000, said building to be completed by the first day of September, 1875, or within a reasonable time thereafter, the foundation of which said building shall be lowered' in the ground to a depth equal to that of the foundation of the adjoining building. It is further agreed by and between the parties, and the said parties of the first part (being the lessors) do hereby obligate themselves to purchase of the second part, his executors or administrators, at the expiration of said term, all the buildings which may have been made, erected and placed upon said premises by the party of the second part, and which shall at that date be suitable for business purposes, at a price equal to seventy per cent, of the actual appraised value of the same; said appraised value to be determined by three disinterested persons, to be selected in the manner aforesaid, the decision of any two of whom shall be considered final.”

“To be selected in the manner aforesaid” refers to the method provided for the selection of appraisers to fix the rental value of the premises. These appraisers are to be selected in the same way, one by the lessee, one by the lessors, and the third by the two thus .chosen. Another part of the lease to which we shall have occasion to refer is that providing for the termination or forfeiture of the lease in the event that [594] the lessee does not comply with certain conditions. That provides in part as follows:

“And it is further understood and agreed to, that if the said party of the second part shall fail to pay the rent aforesaid as the same shall become due and payable, according to the covenants aforesaid, and shall fail to perform any of the covenants and conditions on his part to be kept and performed, it shall and may be lawful for said party of the first part to re-enter and take possession of said demised premises, and expel said party of the second part, his heirs, executors or assigns, therefrom. And it shall not be necessary for the said party of the first part, or any other person in their behalf, to make demand for the payment of said rent at the time it shall become due and payable or at any other time to entitle them to re-enter, any rule in law or equity to the contrary notwithstanding.”

The lease contains another provision to which I desire to make reference, to the effect that the lessor shall have a lien upon the building for the non-payment of rentals, taxes, assessments, etc., that reads as follows:

"It is also agreed that the party of the second part, in addition to the rents aforesaid, shall pay all taxes and assessments which may be levied or assessed upon said premises, on or after the first day of January, 1875, except payment of installment of said taxes for December, 1875, as the same may from time to time become due and payable, and that said taxes and assessments, together with the rents aforesaid to become due, shall at all times constitute a good and valid lien in favor of the parties of the first part upon the said improvements to be erected hereafter by the party of the second part upon the premises aforesaid; it being understood that the moneys to be paid for the sidewalk now laid are to be paid by the parties of the first part.”

Immediately following this is the clause which I have read, providing for the erection of the building, and for the payment of seventy per cent, of its value in a certain contingency.

In the case at bar a petition, answer and reply have been filed, making up certain issues; and the question now submitted to us, after hearing certain evidence, is whether we should require this accounting. Our finding upon this occasion will not he the basis of a final judgment or a final order; but by agreement of the parties, we are called upon to determine this preliminary question, in accordance with the principles of a court of chancery, in order that the parties may know how further to proceeld.

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Lent v. Curtis, 14 Ohio C.C. Dec. 592, 2 Ohio C.C. (n.s.) 558, 1902 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 166 (Ohio Super. Ct. 1902).

14 Ohio C.C. Dec. 592 (Lent v. Curtis) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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