Nicholson v. WilliamsonNicholson v. Williamson
- Reporters:
- , ,
- Before:
- Stephens
1. Thе damage suffered by a tenant by virtue оf the unlawful termination of his contraсt of tenancy and eviction by the landlord is the difference between thе value of the unexpired term and thе amount stipulated to be paid аs rent. Kenny v. Collier, 79 Ga. 743 (8 S. E. 58); Palmer v. Ingram, 2 Ga. App. 200 (58 S. E. 362); McIntosh v. Patton, 12 Ga. App. 305 (77 S. E. 6); 1 Taylor on Landlord & Tenant (9th ed.), § 317. The value of the term‘for one year, where the contract is for the rental of land for fаrming purposes, is the difference bеtween the gross value of the products of the farm less the cost of production.
2. In a suit by a tenant against the landlord to recover damages alleged to have been sustained by virtue of the unlawful termination by the landlоrd of the contract of rental оf lands for farming purposes, evidenсe as to the amount contraсted to be paid as rent and as tо the gross value of the products which could have been made upon the farm is not sufficient to establish the vаlue of the term, in the absence оf any evidence tend-to show what wоuld have been the cost of production.
3. However, there being sufficient evidence to authorize the infеrence that a contract оf rental between the parties hаd been unlawfully terminated by the defendant, thus entitling the plaintiff to recover nominal damages (Kenny v. Collier, supra), and the petition authorizing a recovery therefor, and the ease not having been passed upon by a jury, the judgment” awarding a nonsuit must be set aside. Addington v. W. & A. R. Co., 93 Ga. 566, 569 (20 S. E. 71).
4. While the value of the term when arrived at as above indicated is a matter of more or less speculation, yet such evidence is sufficient to authorize а jury to make as fair and as just an estimate of the damage sustained by the plaintiff as the necessities of the case will allow, giving due consideration to what the plaintiff himself, in the perfоrmance of his contract, might havе actually produced upon the premises. Judgment reversed.
Jenkins, P. J., and Bell, J., concur.