Lehigh Valley Railroad v. Andrus
Lehigh Valley Railroad v. Andrus
Opinion of the Court
The bill of complaint in this cause was filed by the railroad company for the purpose of obtaining from the court of chancery a decree fixing the amount of rent to be paid by the company to Andrus under a lease for certain lands in Bayonne, the title to which is in Andrus. The term of the lease was for a period of sixty years, beginning in 1889, and
The facts and circumstances which rendered necessary this application to the court of chancery are set out in our opinion, promulgated in an earlier stage of the case, and reported in 92 N. J. Eq. 238; and the existence of jurisdiction of the court of chancery to entertain the application was affirmed by us against the challenge of the defendant. The court of chancery, upon the ease being remitted to it for further proceedings, took testimony for the purpose of determining the value of the leasehold estate and the fair annual rental for the period embraced in the litigation. The conclusion reached by the vice-chancellor who heard the ease was that, on the proofs submitted, the fair rental for the property for the period mentioned would be $48,431.25 per annum, this rental being computed on the basis of five per cent, return on the market value of the property as ascertained by him. Both sides have appealed from the fixation of the rent by the vice-chancellor, the defendant claiming that it is too low and the complainant that it is too high.
A careful consideration of the proofs sent up with the appeals leads us to the conclusion that we should not interfere with the finding of the vice-chancellor fixing the rent at the figure above indicated.
The case discloses that within five days after the filing of the bill in the case the defendant, Andrus, brought suit against the railroad company for the use and occupation of the premises for the first three months of the term which began on June 5th, 1919; that this suit went to judgment, and that the amount of the recovery has not yet been paid by the railroad company. This suit was based upon the following provision in the lease: “If for any cause a valid award” [b,y arbitrators] “fixing rentals shall not be made,
Our conclusion is that the decree appealed from should be affirmed, with the modification which we have indicated, and it will be so ordered.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Lehigh Valley Railroad Company v. John E. Andrus
- Status
- Published