Standard Oil Co. v. Carr

24 Ohio Law. Abs. 278, 1937 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 1189
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedMarch 5, 1937
DocketNo 101
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 24 Ohio Law. Abs. 278 (Standard Oil Co. v. Carr) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Standard Oil Co. v. Carr, 24 Ohio Law. Abs. 278, 1937 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 1189 (Ohio Ct. App. 1937).

Opinion

OPINION

By HORNBECK, J.

This is an appeal on questions of law and fact. The suit was to enjoin the defendants from interfering with the plaintiff’s right to possession of certain premises, described in a lease between the parties, upon which was a service station.

The case is submitted on a transcript of the evidence as presented to the Common Pleas Court. The injunction was denied. The cause is heard de novo.

The material facts are that the plaintiff was engaged in the sale of gasoline, motor oils and other products which are distributed to its stations throughout the country.

On the 15th day of January, 1935, the parties entered into a lease, plaintiff’s Exhibit A, for the premises described in the' petition, consisting of 1.85 acres of land, more or less, on Main Street in the village of Port Jefferson, Shelby County, Ohio, “together with all buildings, improvements and equipment thereon or connected therewith, which property and equipment is now being operated or is intended to be operated as an automobile filling station.” On the same date the same parties entered into an Agent’s Agreement, plaintiff’s Exhibit B.

The rental to be paid for the premises was a minimum of $1.00 per month, %c per gallon per month if the sale of gasoline exceeded 1500 gallons and an additional %e “per gallon upon each gallon of gasoline sold on the premises during the months of the year in which the actual sales of gasoline thereon were less than 1500 gallons, less the sum of $.1.00 previous- ■ ly paid for each such month.”

There were covenants and agreements carried into the lease under twelve clauses, defining the rights and obligations of the parties. The fourth clause provided in part: ■

“Lessee shall have the privilege and option of extending this agreement for four additional periods of one (1) year each upon the same terms and conditions as herein set forth, the first of such periods to begin on the expiration of the initial period herein granted and each successive period to begin on the expiration of the period immediately preceding;”

In the blank space appearing under clause 4, there was inserted in the lease plaintiff’s Exhibit A, in handwriting, the word “four,” making the lease to read that the agreement was for four additional periods of one year, each, etc.

The lease further provided that the option for the additional periods would be considered as having been exercised unless the plaintiff gave notice in writing to the defendants at least fifteen days before the additional period would otherwise commence of plaintiff’s intention not to exercise the extension privilege.

There is a provision under clause 2 fox-cancellation and tex-mination of the lease by the plaintiff upon fifteen days’ written notice to the defendants of intention so to do. It is further provided that tlx 3 plaintiff shall at all times during the term of the lease have the peaceful and quiet enjoyment and possession of the premises without any manner of let or hindrance from the lessor or any person or persons lawfully claiming the premises or any part [279]*279thereof and the lessor agrees to handle plaintiff’s products exclusively.

The lease further provides that the Standard Oil color scheme of the plaintiff upon the buildings, structure or equipment upon the premises shall be the colors red, •white and blue and lessors agree not to sell or offer for sale or to permit to be sold or offered for sale upon the premises any motor vehicle, fuel or petroleum products other than those manufactured by the plaintiff, so long as any building, structure or equipment on the premises is painted in the standard colors of the plaintiff.

It appears that on or about December 11, 1935, the defendants ceased to operate the service station for and on behalf of the plaintiff, notified it of their purpose not to recognize any of the rights of the plaintiff under the lease after January 6, 1936, and on or about that time began to sell the gasoline and oil of another company, using the equipment of plaintiff in making such sales and continued the use of said premises without changing the color scheme on the building or removing a Sohio sign which was on or about the premises.

It is further averred that in January, 1936, plaintiff made demand upon the defendants that either they cease to violate the terms of the lease and the agency agreement within three days from the receipt of the notice of said demand or surrender and release possession of the service station premises to the plaintiff, to which request defendants refused to accede.

The only controversy between the parties respecting the form of the lease arises upon the claim of the defendants that the privilege of four year renewal periods of one year each was not in the instrument when they signed it and therefore must have been inserted afterward.

The plaintiff is insisting on its rights under the renewal clause in the lease and claims right of possession thereunder from January 7, 1936, for one year thereafter.

Subsequent to the notice to the defendants by the plaintiff to vacate the premises or observe the agency agreement, the plaintiff exercised its privilege to cancel and terminate the agency agreement. This agreement, plaintiff’s Exhibit B, provided in part that the defendants should act as the authorized agents for the plaintiff at the service station to sell its products, to give their exclusive time and attention to the employment. The privilege was granted to the defendants to handle and deal in confections and tobacco. Commissions to be paid to the defendants were set out, which on the gasoline was the difference per gallon between the dealer’s price quoted and the retail service station price fixed by the plaintiffs. The respective amounts, as of the date of the agreement were 3c per gallon on Ethyl and Sohio X-70 gasoline and 2c per gallon on Renown green gasoline.

It is further provided that:

“It is understood that first party (plaintiff) holds the above service station under a lease and that this agreement, unless sooner terminated, shall terminate in any event with the termination of said lease in any manner.”

And further, that the plaintiff may terminate the agreement at any time when in its judgment the defendants have violated any of its terms.

The plaintiff prayed that the defendants be enjoined (a) from interfering with plaintiff’s right to possession of the service station premises in the petition described, from ■withholding possession of said premises, from interfering in any way with the uninterrupted possession by the plaintiff and its rights in and to said premises; (b) from buying, selling or handling in any manner or permitting buying, selling or handling in any manner of any products other than those manufactured and delivered to the premises by the plaintiff during the term of plaintiff’s lease.

The defendants claim, first, that the plaintiff was not entitled to the relief sought; that its lease had expired by the terms thereof at the conclusion of one year after its execution because there was no provision in the lease as executed for a four-year extender, one year at a time, and because the lease and the agency agreement were so related in terms and purposes as to make it impracticable to enforce the provisions of the lease against the defendants after the cancellation of the agency contract.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
24 Ohio Law. Abs. 278, 1937 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 1189, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/standard-oil-co-v-carr-ohioctapp-1937.