Crenshaw-Gary Lumber Co. v. Norton

Citations

• 111 Miss. 720
• 72 So. 140

Syllabus

<p>1. Landlord and Tenant. Construction of lease. Extension or renewal.</p> <p>In construing a lease to determine whether it is a lease with an “option of renewal,” such as requires notice of the intent of the lessee to renew before its expiration or whether it is a lease with an “option of extension,” which does not require such notice and where notice of renewal or extension will be implied by the tenant remaining in possession of the premises after the expiration of the lease unless provided otherwise in the lease, the court will consider the entire instrument, together with the other facts alleged in the bill.</p> <p>2. Landlord and Tenant. Removal of lease. Notice. Option of renewal. Option of extension.</p> <p>While the authorities are divided as to whether or not notice of intent to renew is required of the lessee where it is a lease with an option of renewal and notice is not provided for in the contract, but it is probably the better rule to hold that the lessee is required to give notice of his intent to renew before the expiration, regardless of any provision in the contract as to notice where it is clearly the intention of the parties that a new lease at,the expiration of the old, is to be obtained by the lessee, and not that the option is one merely of extension of the term of the old lease.</p> <p>3. Same.</p> <p>The margin of difference is very narrow between the two kinds of “options of renewal” and, “option of extension,” and it may be reasonably said that there is no substantial difference and the terms are synonymous, although a clear distinction is made by the authorities in this country.</p> <p>4. Landlord and Tenant. Renewal of lease. Notice.</p> <p>Where a lumber company leased land for its mill for seven years the lease providing that at the expiration of the term, the lessee should have the option to renew said lease “for an additional term of seven years, and prior to the expiration of the original term the company acquired timber lands abo