City of Cincinnati v. Paint Creek Collieries Co.

Citations

• 252 Pa. 619
• 97 A. 852
• 1916 Pa. LEXIS 672

Syllabus

<p>Landlord and tenant — Lease of municipal property — Action for rent — Defense—Denial of landlord’s title — Affidavit of defense — Insufficiency.</p> <p>In an action by a municipality to recover rent due from a tenant of certain municipal real estate under a lease executed in pursuance of an ordinance of the city council, an affidavit of defense is insufficient as amounting to a denial by the tenant of the title of his landlord, and for indefiniteness, where it averred that the municipality had no power to acquire title to such property for other than municipal purposes; that the city did not hold title to the demised property; that the premises were held in trust for the public and that the lease was therefore void; but made no denial of the allegations that the defendant' went into possession under the lease and paid a rental for part of the period, or that it had held and continued to hold peaceable, uninterrupted and full possession of the leased property.</p>