Brown v. Lane

CONREY, P. J.

This is an appeal by defendant from a judgment in favor of the plaintiff for a portion of the money deposited with the defendant at the time of the making of a certain lease of real property for a term of four years and ten months, ending October 31, 1927.

G. C. Brown and Percy A. Lane entered into a written lease whereby plaintiff leased from the defendant a certain

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storeroom, known as No. 432 S. Spring Street, Los Angeles, for the term of years above stated. Under the terms of said lease plaintiff deposited with defendant the sum of $1500 which the defendant was to hold as security for the payment of rent and faithful performance by lessee of all obligations therein undertaken by him until the termination of said lease, at which time, lessor was to apply said deposit or so much thereof as might be necessary as a credit on any damages he might sustain by reason of the breach or breaches of any of said obligations by lessee, and to repay the balance of said deposit, if any, to lessee.

Plaintiff paid rent which became due under said lease up to and including March, 1925. On April 16, 1925, defendant served upon plaintiff a written notice demanding of plaintiff the payment of rent for the month of April, within three days of the service of" said written notice, or in the alternative demanding that plaintiff quit and deliver up said premises to the defendant. Plaintiff did not pay defendant said rent but did deliver up the premises to the defendant on April 30, 1925. Plaintiff then brought action to recover the balance claimed by him out of said deposit of $1500. The court rendered judgment in favor of plaintiff in the sum of $860 with interest thereon at seven per cent per annum from April 30, 1925 (being the difference between $1500 plus $110 collected from a subtenant, and $750, the amount of the rent for the month of April), together with plaintiff’s costs of suit. This judgment was entered on the twenty-third day of November, 1926, nearly one year before the end of the term of the lease.

Under the terms of the lease, upon the failure of the lessee to pay the rent or surrender premises within the time specified in the notice given, it was provided that the lessor should have the right to re-enter the premises. The lease further provided as follows: “Should lessor elect to re-enter and take possession of said premises under the provisions herein made, he may either terminate this lease and recover from lessee all damages lessor may incur in recovering possession of said premises, because of any breach, or breaches by lessee; or lessor may re-let said premises or any part thereof for all or any part of the remainder of said term, to a tenant or tenants satisfactory to him, and