Berkow v. Hammer’s Empirical Analysis
1949
Citation profile
16 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 16 later decisions — most recently March 2001
16 state decisions
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.
Relationships
Relies on F. B. Fountain Co. v. Stein · Dikeman v. Sunday Creek Coal Co. · Bluthenthal v. Atkinson · Donovan Motor Car Co. v. Niles · Thiebaud v. First National Bank
Most-quoted passages
The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 16 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
““The usual purpose of requiring the lessee in any case to give notice of the exercise of an option to renew the lease is that the lessor may not be compelled to wait until the last day of the term of the lease before he may know whether or not the lessee desires to continue to occupy the premises for a further term and thereby take the risk of having his premises remain idle for an indefinite period in the event that said option to renew the lease is not exercised. If appellant’s contention be sustained, it would mean that appellant was not permitted to notify the landlord at any time during the year and nine months it occupied the premises that it desired to and would continue its tenancy after the original term fixed in the lease, but that it was required to wait until ninety days of the expiration of the lease before it could serve such notice. Such a limitation would obviously be to the disadvantage of both parties to the lease, and there appears to be no reason in law or fact why such a provision should have been made. If the option had read ‘within ninety days of the expiration of the lease,’ then there would be some force in appellant’s contention, but the presence of the words ‘prior to’ clearly indicates, we believe, that it was the clear intention of the parties that the notice should be served at least ninety days pri- or to the date on which the lease expired.””
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority““Although we have not had occasion heretofore to construe the word ‘within,’ when used in conjunction with the words ‘prior to,’ we do not find the problem of interpretation difficult, viewing the option in the light of options customarily used in leases. So used its meaning is neither unusual nor strained. It is well recognized in law. Courts in other jurisdictions have invariably construed the words to mean ‘not later than.’ Not a single case to the contrary has been cited, and we have been unable to fine [sic] one.””
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority““It is further agreed and understood, however, that, in the event the lessee herein, shall fail to give the lessor herein a written notice of its election to exercise this option for a 3-year renewal of this lease within 90 days prior to the expiration of this lease, this option for a 3-year renewal shall thereafter be and become null ...””
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
How this case has been treated — in progress
Whether each later court followed, distinguished, criticized, or overruled this decision. The treatment classification (task #35) runs highest-cited cases first and lights up here as it reaches this one.