Case Name: SOUTHERN AIRWAYS COMPANY v. DeKALB COUNTY; and vice versa
Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
Jurisdiction: Georgia
Decision Date: 1960-04-29
Citations: 101 Ga. App. 689
Docket Number: 38038, 38060
Parties: SOUTHERN AIRWAYS COMPANY v. DeKALB COUNTY; and vice versa.
Judges: Gardner, P. J., Carlisle and Frankum, JJ., concur. Toionsend and Bell, JJ., concur specially. Felton, C. J., dissents.
Reporter: Georgia Appeals Reports
Volume: 101
Pages: 689–696

Head Matter:
38038, 38060.
SOUTHERN AIRWAYS COMPANY v. DeKALB COUNTY; and vice versa.
Decided April 29, 1960
Rehearing denied May 19, 1960.
Fisher, Phillips & Allen, Moise, Post & Gardner, B. Emerson Gardner, Albert G. Norman, Jr., J. William Gibson, for plaintiff in error.
George P. Dillard, W. Dan Greer, M. H. Blackshear, Jr., Spalding, Sibley, Troutman, Meadow & Smith, contra.

Opinion:
Nichols, Judge.
The original lease was entered into on October 25, 1940, and on July 1, 1943, was amended and on a date between December 16, 1943, and January 8, 1944, a new lease agreement, also dated October 25, 1940, was entered into between DeKalb County and Southern Airways Company. The plaintiff, Southern Airways Company, now relies on the last lease to support its contentions that it has a valid lease on the property, "Camp Gordon Airport," for 15 years beginning whenever the premises are vacated by the United States.
Paragraphs 2 and 26 of the lease provided: "2. To have and to hold the leased premises for a period of fifteen (15) years from the date of the completion of said Camp Gordon Airport for business, this said lease to be effective when said Airport has been completed and officially opened for business. . . 26. In the event that the entire premises known as Camp Gordon Airport shall be taken over by the United States Government or by the State of Georgia for governmental functions so that lessee will be substantially deprived of its rights under this lease, said lease shall be suspended for the period in question, and shall be reinstated at the end of such period and an additional term added to the end of the lease period so that lessee shall be entitled to- use of the premises under this lease for a time equivalent to the full lease period, as though there had been no suspension thereof."
Paragraph 9 of the petition as finally amended, alleged: "On approximately June 20, 1941, before completion of said airport and before petitioner took possession of said 'Camp Gordon Airport,' the entire premises were taken over by the United States Government for use in the national defense, a governmental function. Said taking over by the United States Government was by virtue of a lease agreement entered into, on June 20, 1941, between DeKalb County and the United States Navy. By the terms of said agreement, defendant county leased said Camp Gordon Airport to the United States Navy for a term of one year beginning with the 1st day of July, 1941, and ending with the 30th day of June, 1942. The lease further gave the Navy 'the option of renewing said lease for additional periods of one year upon conditions hereinafter set forth for a period of not longer than eight years, unless at the end of such eight-year period it shall be determined by the President of the United States that a national defense emergency continues to exist, in which event the option to renew said lease for periods of one year shall be continued until such time as said national defense emergency has ceased to exist.' Paragraph A-l of said agreement provided as follows: 'That the exclusive use, possession and control of said airport and all improvements and facilities now or hereafter situated thereon shall be delivered to the Government on the date fixed for the beginning of this lease and, for the term of this lease and any renewal thereof, the county will maintain the Government in exclusive use, possession and control of said airport."
In Murphy v. Johnston, 190 Ga. 23, 26 (8 S. E. 2d 23), the Supreme Court said: "When no life in being forms any part of the period of suspension or postponement of the time when the estate or interest is to become vested, the limit of time under the rule against perpetuities is twenty-one years. 1 Perry on Trusts (7th ed.), 634, 635 (§ 380), and cit.; 48 C. J. 939, 941, and cit." See also 70 C. J. S. 578, 579, Perpetuities § 4. Therefore the question is presented as to whether, under its terms, the lease in question violated the rule against perpetuities.
Under the allegations of the petition the plaintiff never went into possession, nor was it ever entitled to possession, for the airport was not completed prior to the time the lease between the county and the United States was entered into. Under' the pleaded terms of the lease with the United States, the United States had the right to renew its lease after the first eight-year period so long as the President of the United States has not declared that the national emergency has ceased to exist, and under such circumstances a period in excess of 21 years could expire before the plaintiff, under the terms of its lease, would be entitled to the property.
Moreover the plaintiff's lease was not to become effective until the airport was completed and opened for business. This too could be more than 21 years later, if ever, for there was no provision that the airport was to be completed within 21 years or any other period of time, and there was no provision that the airport would be opened for business within any certain period.
No Georgia case was cited by either party directly in point on this question and none have been found by the court, but the case of Haggerty v. City of Oakland, 161 Cal. App. 2d 407 (326 P. 2d 957, 66 A. L. R. 2d 718), involves a lease which provided that it could be effective when a building was completed but no definite time for completion was provided, and it was held that such a contract violated the rule against perpetuities, and it was there said: "If a lease for years is granted to take effect on a condition precedent which may not occur within the period of the rule, it violates the rule and must fall. (See Simes and Smith, The Law of Future Interests (2nd ed) p. 153, § 1242; Gray, The Rule Against Perpetuities (4th ed.) p. 353; 2 Tiffany, Real Property (3rd ed) p. 170, at p. 171, § 406.)"
A Georgia case somewhat similiar to the case sub judice was that of Gearhart v. West Lumber Co., 212 Ga. 25 (90 S. E. 2d 10), involving a provision in a deed that property should be used for school purposes and if such provision was violated, without reference to time, the grantor would have the right to repurchase the land at a stated price. It was held: "The clause in the present deed, which authorized the grantor to purchase the land at a stated price, without fixing any time limit during which the property should be so used or within which the option should be exercised, was void as violative of the rule against perpetuities. Code § 85-707; 41 Am. Jur. 84, § 41; Turner v. Peacock, 153 Ga. 870 (113 S. E. 585); Brown v. Mathis, 201 Ga. 740 (2) (41 S. E. 2d 137)."
The lease in the present case which sought to grant the lessee an interest in the land to begin at a time in the future upon the happening of events which might or might not occur within 21 years was void as violating the rule against perpetuities and the judgment granting the defendant's motion for a summary judgment was not error.
Inasmuch as the judgment on the main bill of exceptions is affirmed the cross-bill of exceptions is dismissed.
Judgment affirmed on main bill of exceptions. Cross-bill dismissed.
Gardner, P. J., Carlisle and Frankum, JJ., concur. Toionsend and Bell, JJ., concur specially. Felton, C. J., dissents.