Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1915-06-18
A Judicial Opinion In The WASH
ihgton Grove Suit.

Judge Edward C. Peter has filed an
opinion in the suit of Salle L. Walker vs.
The Washington Grove Association of the
District of Columbia and Maryland, which
reads as follows:
This cause, which has for its object the
specific performance of an alleged statutory
option to redeem parcel of land held by
the plaintiff under a lease for ninety mine
years, renewable forever. has been sub
mitted, after argument Of counsel, for a
final decree upon bill, answer and an
agreed statement of facts.
THE defendent is a corporation existing
under the Act of 1874, Chapter 1885. as
amended by the Act of 1885. Chapter 80.
the Act of 1890, Chapter 10, and the Act
of 1908, Chapter 467. By the last-men-
toned Act the name of the defendant was
changed from the name of the Washing
ton Grove Camp Meeting Association of
the District Of Columbia and Maryland, to
the name by which it is herein sued.
Approximately. 975 of the 1000 shares
of the defendants stock have been issued
and located on lots. and there have been
one hundred and twenty-eight dwellings
erected on selected lots by stockholders
of the defendant company. which are as
sessed for purposes of taxation at from
one hundred TO fourteen hundred dollars,
| the aVaraoa aasacamanf haind ahnnt thraa
hundred and eighty-five dollars. The de-
PENDANT has executed over one hundred
papers purporting to be leases for ninety
nine years, covering one hundred and six
lots. All these papers were issued prior to
April 18th, 1907, to stockholders who had
located their stock on the particular lot or
lots described in their several leases The
defendant has sold and conveyed in fee
simple ten parcels of the land originally
owned by it, all of which are located outside
of its subdivision.
"On the End day of July, 1914. the plain
tiff rendered the Board of Trustees of the
defendant company, when said board was
duly assembled to transact business, the
sum of one hundred dollars in gold coin of
the United States. and offered to pay all
arrearages Of rent and the current rent to
the date of such tender. and was informed
by the president Of the board that they
would take the matter under consideration
and advise the plaintiff later of their de-
termination. The tender was not accepted,
and the following day this suit was in
stituted. 1t is agreed that all Of the as
sessments against the lot in question have
been paid to the defendant, and that the
shareholders of the defendant company
have severally paid the taxes assessed
upon the Improvements erected on the lots
located and held by them. while the de-
fendant has paid the taxes on all of its
land, including the lots allotted to and
held by its stockholders.
by the Acts of 1884, Chapter 485, it
was enacted: That all leases or subleases
of land hereafter made in this State for a
longer period than fifteen years shall be
redeemable at any time after the expira-
ton of fifteen years, at the option Of the
tenant, for a sum Of money equal to the
capitalization of the rent reserved at the
rate of six per centum in gold coin of the
United States, or its equivalent, unless
some other sum. not exceeding four per
cent. capitalization Of said rent in said
coin, shall be specified in said lease, in
which event said rent shall be redeemable
for the sum fixed in said lease or suitcase
This Act. as amended. is now Section "a
of Article So of the Code.
There can be no question as to the
power of the defendant to make the lease
under consideration, and il and the assign
ments thereof having been made, executed.
delivered and recorded in accordance with
all legal requirements, and. If the lease is
embraced in the Act. the plaintiff having
made a proper tender Of the maximum
amount that could be demanded of him,
the sole question open for the courts CON
sideration is. does the Act of 1884 apply
to this lease. If it does, the plaintiff is
entitled TO the relief he seeks. II il does
not. he is entitled to no relief and his bill
must be dismissed
While the title of the Act is An Act
TO prohibit the creation of irredeemable
ground rents and to regulate the leasing
of land upon an examination Of the
Ia ,.y,H no IA
in it which can be construed TO prohibit
the creation of such ground rents. II there
was. leases purporting TO create them
would be void but notwithstanding the
statute, so long as the lessee fails to exer-
else his statutory option to purchase the
fee, which he may never do. lease
creating an iredeemable ground rent is
now as binding and enforceable as ever
Holman VS.. Wagner. ia Maryland, 1913.
The lessees option to enlarge his lease
hold to fee being purely statutory. he
can only exercise il in the mode provided
by the statute. that is. by paying TO the
owner Of the fee sum Of money to be
ascertained by the exclusive method pre-
cribed by the statute; that is to say, by
the capitalization Of the rent reserved at
the rate of six per centum. The object of
the statute was to break up the use Of
ground rents as revenue producing invest
ments. and for that purpose it is efficient.
Having this single object in view. the
craftsman of the law evidently overlooked
the fact that the reservation Of fixed
money rent susceptible Of capitalization
in the manner provided is not essential to
the validity of lease. Any good consid-
Grafton will support lease, and. il a rent
is reserved. the reservation may be not
only in money. but in grain, animals or
produce or it may consist Of personal
sarvicea of the lessee Tavlor's Iandlord