57 Pa. Super. 585 | Pa. Super. Ct. | 1914
Opinion by
The rent under the lease from Mrs. D. J. Sterling to Paul Shoop was payable monthly in advance, and was paid up to January 1, 1912. Therefore, the landlord’s warrant was prematurely issued on December 18, 1911, unless it was justified under the clause of the lease which provided, that, if the tenant “shall remove or attempt to remove or declare an intention to remove the goods from said premises, then and in such case, the entire rent for the balance of said term shall at the option of the lessor, at once become due and payable, as if by the terms of the lease it were all payable in advance. . . .” This language plainly means the tenant’s removal, at
The question raised by the fifth and seventh assignments of error is as to whether, in the event of a finding in favor of the defendants, an attorney’s commission of 120.00 should be included. The lease contained a provision that, in case of default in payment of rent or any other breach of covenant, a judgment might be entered against the tenant and in favor of the lessor for the sum due by reason of the default or breach of covenant, "with costs of suit and attorney’s commission of $20.00 for collection.” No other express provision with regard to the attorney’s commission has been called to our attention, and no case has been cited which extends such provision in the lease to proceedings by distress. We are not convinced that there is any principle which justifies its extension to that kind of proceeding. The words "expenses, etc.,” in the immediately preceding clause of the lease may be well satisfied without construing them as arbitrarily entitling the landlord to an attorney’s commission of $20.00.
The judgment is reversed and a venire facias de novo is awarded.