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145 Pa. 640

Ogden v. Hatry

Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Venango County · decided 1892-01-04

No. 223 October term 1891, Sup. Ct.; court below, No. 9 April Term 1891, C. P. On January 28, 1891, an appeal was entered by tbe defendants from tbe judgment of a justice of the peace in favor of Joseph M. Ogden against A. G. Hatry and the Hazelwood Oil Co. On February 9th, the plaintiff filed a statement of claim, with proper averments, to recover one year’s rental on a lease of land for oil purposes, to wit, eighty dollars, due December 11, 1890.

Relies on Wills v. Manufacturers N. Gas Co. · Ray v. West. Penna. N. Gas Co.

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1892-01-04

How this case has been cited

Cited by 10 later decisions — most recently July 1936

2 federal appellate · 8 state decisions

4018921900191019201930decided

Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.

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Per Curiam:

¶1We are unable to distinguish this case from Ray v. N. Gas Co., 138 Pa. 576. It is true, the language of the leases differs somewhat, but the difference is more seeming than real. In the case cited, the lease provided that, if the lessee failed to do what he had agreed to do, the lease should “ be null and void, and to remain without effect between the parties.” In the case in hand, the clause relied upon as exempting the lessee from liability is as follows:

¶2“ A failure on the part of the second party to comply with *642the terms of this covenant, by either completing a well within the term aforesaid or pajdng said rental, shall render this lease and agreement null and void, and not to remain or be continued in force or be revived without the consent of both parties in writing, and all rights, claims and demands, of any kind or nature, of any and all parties hereunder, shall thereupon cease, determine, and be extinguished, with like effect as if this agreement had never been made.”

¶3There is more verbiage here, but no more force. Had the clause ended with the words “null and void,” the legal effect would have been the same. To say that a lease shall be “ null and void ” upon a certain contingency, is using as strong language as the subject is capable of. We think the case comes within the ruling of Wills v. N Gas Co., 130 Pa. 222, and Ray v. N. Gas Co., supra, where it was held that a clause such as this was intended for the benefit of the lessor, and that the lessee cannot, by his own act and default, relieve himself from a liability previously incurred.

¶4Judgment affirmed.

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