Hoch v. Bass

Citations

• 126 Pa. 13
• 24 W.N.C. 27
• 17 A. 512
• 1889 Pa. LEXIS 830

Syllabus

<p>(а) The lessees of an ochre mine covenanted to pay for every ton of oehre taken 25 cts., payable quarterly, and to take each year not less than 500 tons, “ or pay for the same at the end of each and every year, in default of which the above lease is to be null and void.”</p> <p>(б) And further, “ that if the (lessees) during any previous year or years iiave taken away more than 500 tons of said clay or ochre, they shall not pay more tons of clay or ochre than they have taken away during any year, unless the aggregate number of tons amounts to less than 500 tons per year.”</p> <p>(c) And “ it is further agreed that if any of the covenants above mentioned should not be complied with for tile term of three months, then the above lease is to be null and void.”</p> <p>1. The stipulation for the termination of the lease for the non-payment of the royalty “.at the end of the year,” in par. (a) must be read together with the general stipulation in par. (5) for the termination of the lease “ if any of the covenants above mentioned should not be complied with for the term of three months.”</p> <p>2. Wherefore, though the unpaid royalty was due and demandable at the end of a year from the date of the lease, yet a forfeiture of the lease could not be, asserted by the lessor until three months default had elapsed after the end of the year.</p> <p>3. Whether this was a ease in which a bill would lie, or whether the remedy at law by ejectment was adequate, and whether a demand for the rent was a prerequisite to the plaintiff’s enforcement of a forfeiture, not decided.</p>