Waukegan Times Theatre Corp. v. Conrad

59 N.E.2d 308, 324 Ill. App. 622, 1945 Ill. App. LEXIS 252
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedFebruary 8, 1945
DocketGen. No. 9,984
StatusPublished
Cited by31 cases

This text of 59 N.E.2d 308 (Waukegan Times Theatre Corp. v. Conrad) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Waukegan Times Theatre Corp. v. Conrad, 59 N.E.2d 308, 324 Ill. App. 622, 1945 Ill. App. LEXIS 252 (Ill. Ct. App. 1945).

Opinion

Mr. Presiding Justice Dove

delivered the opinion of the court.

This cause is here by an appeal by the defendants below from a decree of the circuit court of Lake county, making permanent an injunction restraining each of the appellants from prosecuting a pending forcible entry and detainer suit theretofore instituted by Nellie Conrad or from prosecuting any other action for possession of the premises involved in this proceeding. The decree held a certain lease, hereinafter mentioned, to be in effect between the parties, it construed the ninth paragraph thereof relating to the division of the cost of fuel oil for heating the premises adversely to the contention of appellants and dismissed for want of equity the counterclaim of Nellie Conrad, for possession, double rent, attorney’s fees, and for an equitable lien on the personal property in the theatre, except that part thereof pertaining to the amount claimed to be due her for such fuel oil. No question is raised as to the dismissal of those parts of the counterclaim not pertaining to the fuel oil. Cross error is assigned on the refusal of the trial court to permit the filing of a supplemental complaint. The record discloses that this suit was instituted by appellee against appellants in January 1939. At that time, and for several years previously, appellant Nellie Conrad was the owner of a large business property in the City'of Waukegan, encumbered by a trust deed held by Western and Southern Life Insurance Company, the. other appellant. Prior to December 1934, the building had a large auditorium, previously used as a dance hall, occupying more than one half the ground area, and the remainder of the building was tenanted by small stores, apartments, and offices, the entire premises being heated by one furnace. Under date of December-27, 1934, Nellie Conrad executed a ten-year written lease of the auditorium to Manning Silverman, from March 1, 1935 to February 28, 1945, inclusive, at a term rental of $90,000, payable in monthly instalments of $750 each, in advance each month, with a provision that the leasee should expend $10,000 or more, within 60 days, to convert the dance hall into a motion picture house, and furnish lien waivers keeping the premises free from liens.

The lease provides that the lessee may sublet in whole, but shall not assign the lease without the consent in writing of the lessor first had and obtained; and that “If lessee, or anyone or more of the lessees, if there be more than one, shall ... be adjudged a bankrupt, lessor may terminate this lease,” with a provision that in such event payment shall be made at once of a sum equal to the rent for the .then unexpired term, as liquidated damages.

The ninth clause of the lease provides:

“Lessor shall furnish to lessee in the radiators in said demised premises, a reasonable amount of hot water heat or steam heat at reasonable hours if the weather and temperature require it, for the use of lessee. . . . Lessee shall pay one half the cost of the fuel furnished to the heating plant used to heat said premises, it being specifically understood that said heating plant heats, in addition to the premises herein demised, the so-called ‘Pantheon Building’ located at 38 S. G-enesee Street, Waukegan, Illinois, consisting of stores, apartments and offices.”

The counterclaim alleges money due for fuel oil, and appellee’s answer thereto prays for a construction of the ninth clause, denying it was indebted to defendants as alleged in the counterclaim.

The lease was signed by both parties on December 27, 1934. At that time a proceeding to foreclose the trust deed had been filed, on account of its being in default, and the insurance company would not consent to the lease until an agreement assigning the rents to it was executed. Accordingly, on January 14, 1935, its consent, and an assignment by the lessor of “her entire interest in and to the within lease, and the rent thereby reserved” were indorsed on the lease, and contemporaneously therewith, a written agreement was entered into between Nellie Conrad, the insurance company, and Schwartz and Co., appointing the latter as agent for the renting and management of the property, and paying the net rentals to the insurance company, and assigning all the rentals to the insurance company “in order better to secure the payment of said mortgage indebtedness and the performance of all covenants of said trust deed and this agreement and the payment of all amounts which may be due from time to time hereunder.”

Mr. Silverman remodeled the dance hall, and in March 1935- incorporated the Silver Illinois Theatres Corporation, which operated the theatre from April 1935, until some time in January 1937, when a notice was served on Silverman by the Schwartz agency to terminate the lease on account of an arrearage of rent for one month and $1,400 or $1,500 for fuel oil. Ben Miller, a lawyer representing another party interested in the corporation organized by Silverman, called on Schwartz to adjust the matter, and Schwartz told him he was willing to co-operate if Silverman was out of the picture, as defendants did not want any further dealings with him. This resulted in an assignment of the lease by Silverman to Miller on January 29, 1937, who went into immediate possession and paid the rent until March 2, 1937, when he, in turn, assigned all of his right, title and interest in the lease to Charles H. Penikoff. The latter operated the theatre from that time, under the New Valencia Theatre Corporation, until May 1, 1937, when the name of the corporation was changed to The Waukegan Times Theatre Corporation, appellee. The rent was paid by the New Valencia Theatre Corporation to Schwartz and Company until May 4, 1937, when Mr. Penikoff assigned his interest in the lease to appellee, and the latter continued in possession and paid the rent thereafter. Mr. Penikoff testified that he told Mr. Schwartz of the assignment to him and that it would remain in his name until he was certain how he was going to operate and that later it would be assigned to the new corporation.

In February 1937, Nellie Conrad obtained a judgment against Silver Illinois Theatres Corporation for $1,611.40 on account of its purchase of the carpet which was in the dance hall at the time the Silverman lease > was made, and which was still there at the time of the hearing in this cause. The testimony indicates that shortly before the lease was assigned to Mr. Penikoif Mr. Schwartz told him of the unpaid fuel oil bill, the judgment, and a small item due a painting contractor, and said that Mrs. Conrad would probably not be interested in withdrawing the cancellation of the lease un- • less these items were paid, and that Mr. Penikoif agreed to pay them. Mr. Schwartz testified that Mr. Penikoif and Mr. Miller said that the proceeds of Mr. Penikoif’s deal would be set aside in such a way that all bills would be taken care of before any money was turned over to Mr. Silverman. Mr. Penikoif testified that he did not remember making the statement. He also testified that he asked Mr. Schwartz if the latter could grant consent to the assignment of the lease, and that Mr. Schwartz told him not to worry about it, to go ahead, and that it would be all right and that it would all be taken care of. Mr. Schwartz testified that he told Mr. Penikoif that he was sure he could get the consent of the owners of the property to the assignment, provided the defaults were cured, including the judgment. Apparently upon the advice of Mr.

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Bluebook (online)
59 N.E.2d 308, 324 Ill. App. 622, 1945 Ill. App. LEXIS 252, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/waukegan-times-theatre-corp-v-conrad-illappct-1945.