Lexington Flying Service, Inc. v. Anderson's Ex'r

239 S.W.2d 945
CourtCourt of Appeals of Kentucky
DecidedJanuary 30, 1951
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 239 S.W.2d 945 (Lexington Flying Service, Inc. v. Anderson's Ex'r) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Kentucky primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lexington Flying Service, Inc. v. Anderson's Ex'r, 239 S.W.2d 945 (Ky. Ct. App. 1951).

Opinions

MOREMEN,. Justice.

On December 18, 1942, by an instrument styled Extension -of Lease, James B. Anderson, individually and as agent for, Joseph C. Anderson, Mary.J. Anderson, and Alice S. Anderson, who herein will be called Lessors, leased to appellant, The Lexington Flying Service, a corporation, property known as Lexington Municipal Airport, for a term of one year. The terms of the lease gave to appellants:

(1) The right to renew the lease from year to year upon the same terms and conditions.

(2) The right to- remove hangars and other structures and equipment witjiin 'a reaspnable time after the termination of the lease. ■ ,

(3) An “option to purchase the property herein upon the same terms and conditions as stated in the Exhibit filed herewith, and marked ‘Exhibit B’ for identification.”

This Exhibit B, which has been 'under the consideration of this court before, Anderson v. City of Lexington, 301 Ky. 855, 192 S.W.2d 361, is important to the decision in the instant case, and, in order to understand it, a statement of facts which surrounded its origin is required. . .

On May 4, 1934, the property here involved'was leased by Lessors to the-City of Lexington. On a day not shown to be certain, but in the same month of May, [946]*9461934, the parties entered into a supplemental agreement and, in the preamble of the instrument in reference to the lease of May 4, 1934, it was said: “Said lease being for a period of five (5) years with privilege to second party to renew said lease for an additional five year period, provided it notified first parties sixty (60) days prior to the expiration of the first five-year period, and with the further right and option to the second party at the end of five years, or any time prior thereto, to purchase said property for the sum of Three Hundred Dollars ($300.00) per acre.”

This supplemental agreement, which was executed some time in May 1934, is the “Exhibit B,” referred to in the Extension of Lease, dated December 18, 1942.

Under the terms of its lease, appellant, The Lexington Flying Service, entered into possession and use of the property on January 1, 1943.

. On November 30, 1946, appellant notified Lessors of intention to exercise the option of purchase and made tender of the purchase price which was refused. Thereupon appellant filed a petition in the Fay-ette Circuit'Court wherein it was alleged that Lessee had been in continuous possession of the property since January 1, 1943 under the terms of the lease which had been in force at all times, and prayed that Lessor be required to perform specifically the terms of the option to purchase. The trial court in a written opinion stated the parties had agreed that Lessee had continued to hold “the premises under this lease by virtue of three successive holdings over and paying rental and not by reason of any specific extension or renewal of the lease.” A demurrer to the petition, as amended, was sustained, the appellant declined to plead further, and the petition, as amended, was dismissed.

The trial court, in a written opinion, based his action in sustaining the demurrer o'n the grounds:

(1) That the holding over each year after the initial one year term, for a period of ninety days, and the payment and acceptance of rent, gave appellant only the right to remain in possession of the premises another nine months, or until the expiration of one year from the day the term of tenancy expired, and that the hold over statute (KRS 383.160) gave to tenant a stay of proceedings, but gave no other right.

(2) That Exhibit “B” gave no option to purchase to appellant in this case, and was only executed for the purpose of carrying out a provision of the original agreement of lease which had been omitted by oversight, namely, the right of lessee to remove hangar, etc., at the end of the lease.

The first question presented to this court concerns whether the holding -over for three, successive years, with payment and acceptance of rent, extended all the terms of the original lease dated December 18, 1942, including the option to purchase. That lease contained this provision: “Said lease to extend for a period of one year, with the privilege to said second party to renew said lease from year to year upon the same terms and conditions as contained in this lease * * *.”

It will be remarked that the lease confers upon Lessee the right to “renew” said lease from year to year and it does not, in express terms, confer the privilege to ■ “extend” the original term on payment of rent. Some courts have recognized a technical distinction between the expressions, “to renew” and “to extend,” and have held that the word “renew” connotes that a new, formal agreement in writing should be executed by the parties in order to conform to the definition of the word or, at least, some positive act other than a mere holding over beyond the fixed term must be taken, while the requirements of the definition of the word “extend” are satisfied by a holding over, accompanied by the payment and acceptance of rent, with the result that the force of the terms of the lease continue in effect for the extended .term.

■ This court has recognized the fact that parties1 to the lease do not always select the exact words necessary to express their agreement, nor are they always aware of the strict,, legal significance of the words used, and, in the case of Klein v. Auto [947]*947Parcel Delivery Co., 192 Ky. 583, 234 S.W. 213, 215, said: “Of the courts recognizing the distinction between a privilege ‘to renew’ and one ‘to extend,’ many of them, including this one, as will be seen from the cases supra, hold that the technical difference may he controlled by the intention. of the parties as manifested by something appearing in the lease, or by their conduct before the controversy arose, and that the privilege may thus be construed as one to ‘extend’ the' term, although the language employed is one ‘to renew’ it.”

A review of the decisions of this court will demonstrate that the word “renew” will not be given its strict legal interpretation, unless it is evident from some provision of the lease, or from the conduct of the parties that the word was not used as a synonym for the word “extend,” and each- case has been decided by the application of this rule to the particular facts presented by the conditions set forth in each lease and the conduct of the párties to the lease. In the case of Cain v. Lawrence Drug Co., 1930, 235 Ky. 12, 29 S.W.2d 550, 551, it was said: “In many cases of comparatively recent date this court has had before it the well-worn and much-handled question concerning the right of the parties to lengthen a lease for an additional stipulated period when the lessee was in express terms given the right ‘to renew’ or ‘to extend’ his first term. Some of the many of such recent cases are: Brown v. Samuels, 70 S.W. 1047, 24 Ky.Law Rep. 1216; Kentucky Lumber Co. v. Newell & Co., 105 S.W. 972, 32 Ky.Law Rep. 396; Grant v. Collins, 157 Ky. 36, 162 S.W. 539, Ann.Cas. 1915D, 249; Miller v. Albany Lodge, 168 Ky. 755, 182 S.W. 936; Mullins v. Nordlow, 170 Ky. 169, 185 S.W. 825; Hunt v. McCord, 179 Ky. 1, 200 S.W. 2; Gault v. Carpenter, 187 Ky. 25, 218 S.W. 254; Kozy Theatre Co. v. Love, 191 Ky. 595, 231 S.W.

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Bluebook (online)
239 S.W.2d 945, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lexington-flying-service-inc-v-andersons-exr-kyctapp-1951.