Prudential Insurance Co. of America v. United States

7 Cl. Ct. 710, 1985 U.S. Claims LEXIS 1006
CourtUnited States Court of Claims
DecidedApril 9, 1985
DocketNo. 141-82L
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 7 Cl. Ct. 710 (Prudential Insurance Co. of America v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Court of Claims primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Prudential Insurance Co. of America v. United States, 7 Cl. Ct. 710, 1985 U.S. Claims LEXIS 1006 (cc 1985).

Opinion

OPINION ON DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO DISMISS PLAINTIFF’S SPECIAL DAMAGES CLAIM, OR IN THE ALTERNATIVE FOR PARTIAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT

PHILIP R. MILLER, Judge:

The government failed to vacate leased premises until 10 months after receiving the lessor’s notice of termination of the lease. The government concedes liability for the fair rental value of the space it occupied for the 10-month period. The questions presented are:

(1) Was the government’s holding over also a breach of its lease agreement which rendered it liable for special contract damages?

(2) If the answer to (1) is in the negative, may the plaintiff be entitled to reimbursement for the same items of claimed special damages as part of just compensation for a temporary taking?

Statement

Since defendant’s motion is addressed to the sufficiency of plaintiff’s claims for special damages, the facts referred to herein are derived from the complaint as supplemented by the undisputed underlying documents submitted by the parties in connection with the motion.

On December 28, 1973, the General Services Administration (GSA), leased from Diversified Building Equities, Inc. (Diversified) approximately 8,197 net usable square feet of space in the Pinehollow Office Building in Houston, Texas, to be occupied by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The initial term of the lease was from March 1, 1974 through February 28, 1979. By subsequent amendments, the rented area was increased to approximately 14,074 square feet.

On July 1, 1974, plaintiff, Prudential, purchased the Pinehollow building and retained Diversified to manage the building.

Clause 5 of the lease agreement gave the government the option to extend the lease term for a period of 3 years. The government exercised this option on January 5, 1979, requesting a renewal through March 7, 1980. However, clause 13 provided that either party could terminate the lease during the renewal period by giving 90 days’ notice in writing to the other party. Pursuant to this clause, on March 27,1979, plaintiff gave notice of termination, with the effective date to be June 27, 1979.

Upon inquiry from the defendant, plaintiff offered to continue the lease on a tenant-at-sufferance basis for a monthly rental of $15,486 (twice the previous rate specified in the lease), but defendant did not accept the offer. As the result, on July 17, 1979, plaintiff sent GSA a letter demanding that IRS vacate the leased premises immediately. Nevertheless, IRS continued to occupy the premises until April 15, 1980.

During the period that the government’s lease was in effect, Prudential also had another tenant in the same building, Cities [712]*712Service Company, which occupied 48,274 square feet of space. On November 30, 1979, Prudential and Cities Service entered into a new lease, from November 1, 1979 through June 30, 1986, for 79,533 square feet, which included the space then occupied without a lease by IRS. That lease included a clause allowing Cities Service to terminate if the additional space occupied by the IRS in the Pinehollow Building was not released on or before February 1, 1980.

In its letter of July 17, 1979, plaintiff made defendant aware that it was negotiating a lease for a major portion of the Pinehollow Building to another (unnamed) tenant in the same building, contingent upon the IRS vacating its quarters by October 1, 1979. On August 14 and November 6, 1979, plaintiff made further demands upon defendant to vacate, each time notifying the government that Prudential would suffer considerable damages if the IRS did not vacate the Pinehollow Building immediately.

On March 1, 1980, Cities Service exercised its option to terminate for the stated reason that plaintiff was unable to deliver the second floor space still occupied by the government. It vacated the remainder of its space in the Pinehollow building on July 31, 1980.

Plaintiff asserts that as a result of the holding over defendant owes Prudential the sum of $195,125 in rent for the 14,074 square feet occupied by IRS, less $78,205 in partial payments thereon, leaving a net amount due of $116,920. The government does not, dispute that it owes rent at fair market value for the holdover period, but does dispute the plaintiff’s claim as to the amount thereof.

In addition, plaintiff claims special damages of $814,723, plus $35,000 in attorneys’ fees, consisting of the following:

Item Damages
(1) Loss of rental revenue from a single tenant for the 79,533 square feet, which were to be occupied by Cities Services, less the rent received from seven new smaller tenants for the space. $327,329
(2) Increase in real estate commissions which plaintiff incurred to obtain the seven new tenants for the 79,533 square feet. 115,847
(3) Increase in refurbishment expenses required for the seven new tenants in excess of which Prudential had agreed to incur for Cities Service alone for the same space. 131,114
(4) Increase in base operating costs for the seven new tenants over that required under the Cities Service lease for its 5-year term 240,432
Total $814,723

Defendant contends in its motion that the claim for special damages must be dismissed because it does not come within the statutory authority of this court, which, insofar as pertinent, is limited to “jurisdiction to render judgment upon any claim against the United States founded either upon the Constitution, or any Act of Congress or any regulation of an executive department, or upon any express or implied contract with the United States, or for liquidated or unliquidated damages in cases not sounding in tort.” 28 U.S.C. § 1491(a)(1) (1982). Conversely, plaintiff maintains that the court does have jurisdiction of the claim for special damages, because it arises out of a contract, the lease agreement which preceded the holdover.

Decision

I.

Contract Damages

A. Examination of the pertinent clauses of the lease agreement shows that the lessor leased to the government the described premises “TO HAVE AND TO HOLD the said premises with their appurtenances for the term beginning on March 1, 1974, through February 28, 1979, subject to termination and renewal rights as may be hereinafter set forth.” (Par. 2.) “This lease may be renewed at the option of the Government, for the following terms and at [713]*713the following rentals.” (Par. 5.) And “[e]ither party may terminate this lease during the renewal period by giving at least 90 days’ notice in writing to the other party, and no rental shall accrue after the effective date of said termination.” (Par. 13.) There is no provision obligating the government to vacate the premises at the termination of the lease.

At common law a bare lease is merely a conveyance of the lessor’s interest in property for a limited term. After the expiration of such term, if the former lessee holds over, the owner’s remedy is eviction, or, if he desires monetary compensation, a suit for damages for trespass, assumpsit or unlawful detainer. See Cohen v. Foodtown Inc., 207 A.2d 122, 124 (D.C.1965); Leonard v.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Kelley v. United States
36 Cont. Cas. Fed. 75,771 (Court of Claims, 1989)
Pasco Enterprises v. United States
13 Cl. Ct. 302 (Court of Claims, 1987)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
7 Cl. Ct. 710, 1985 U.S. Claims LEXIS 1006, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/prudential-insurance-co-of-america-v-united-states-cc-1985.