Jones v. West. Penna. N. Gas Co.

Citations

• 146 Pa. 204
• 23 A. 386
• 1892 Pa. LEXIS 1212

Syllabus

<p>(a) A lessee in an oil and gas lease covenanted to complete a well by a date certain, or in default thereof pay for further delay a certain rental yearly from the time specified: “ And a failure to complete such well, or to pay said rental, .... shall render this lease null and void, and can only be renewed by mutual consent: ”</p> <p>1. The legal effect of the covenant is that the forfeiture is for the benefit of the lessor and is at his option; and such effect can be changed only by an express stipulation that the lease shall be voidable at the option of either party, or of the lessee.</p> <p>2. If a lease is to become “null and void,” it is not made any more so by provisions that it “ shall be of no effect between the parties,” or “ can only be renewed by mutual consent, ’ ’ or other merely cumulative phrases of the same meaning.*</p> <p>3. In an action to recover on the lessee’s default, an offer of the defendant to show “ the uniform construction placed upon such leases by both lessors and lessees,” is inadmissible. It is no more than an offer to reform an instrument on evidence of popular error as to the law. †</p>