A lease may be terminated by a subsequent agreement between the parties. This is commonly known as a surrender. A surrender is a release of possession of the premises by the tenant, and an acceptance by the landlord. A mere abandonment of possession by a tenant without the express or implied acceptance or assent of the landlord is not a surrender. Such an abandonment might constitute a breach of contract on the part of the tenant, but it requires the assent of the landlord to terminate the lease. If A rents a farm for three years at $500.00 a year, and at the expiration of two years agrees to pay B $100.00 to cancel the lease, and B accepts, the transaction constitutes a surrender, and terminates the lease. If A merely abandons the premises without the consent of B, the lease still exists. B can collect the rent for the remaining period covered by the lease. If A abandons the premises, and notifies B that he will not carry out the lease, B may refuse to accept the breach, permit the premises to remain vacant, and collect the rent from B. B may accept A's breach of the contract, and terminate the lease, or he may take possession of the premises, and relet them for A's benefit, notifying A that he takes possession for A's benefit, and not for his own. In this event, B must use reasonable diligence in obtaining the highest rent possible, and if he is obliged to rent for a less amount than A was to pay, B can collect the difference from A.
340. Liability of Parties to a Lease for Breach. If the landlord fails to fulfill the conditions of the lease, he is liable in damages to the tenant. The damages are the difference between the rent paid under the lease, and the market value of the premises furnished. For example, if A rents his house and lot to B for one year at $25.00 per month, and agrees to redecorate the house, but fails to do so, A may recover from B the difference between $300.00, the rent paid under the lease, and the market rental of the house undecorated. If a tenant abandons the lease, the landlord may recover from the the deficiency between the rental named in the lease, and the rental he is able to obtain for the balance of the time covered by the lease.
For example, if A rents B's farm for three years at $500.00 a year, and at the expiration of two years, A abandons the lease, if B is able to obtain but $300.00 for the remaining year covered by the lease, he can recover $200.00 and expenses from A.
A suit for damages is not the only remedy the landlord has against a tenant for the latter's abandonment of the premises. The landlord may refuse to accept the breach on the part of the tenant, let the premises remain vacant, and collect the rent under the lease.
The landlord may enter the premises for the purpose of preventing loss or destruction of the premises without accepting the breach. The landlord may accept and cancel the remaining portion of the lease, or he may again lease the premises for the benefit of the tenant, and collect the deficiency in the rent from the tenant. This question is also discussed in the previous section.
341. Actions for Recovery of Rent and Possession of Leased Premises. A landlord may sue and recover judgment by bringing an ordinary action for debt when rent or any installment is due. If A rents B's house for one year at the rate of $25.00 per month, payable at the end of each month, and fails to pay any installment, B may sue him. The judgment may be satisfied out of any property A may have. If married, A, by statute in most jurisdictions, is entitled to a certain amount of exempt property.
If the landlord has failed to perform all of the terms and conditions of the lease, A may bring a counteraction against B when sued by B for rent. For example, if B has failed to repair the house according to the terms of the lease, A may counterclaim for damages when sued by B for the rent.
When the period of the lease expires, the landlord is entitled to possession of the premises. At common law, he was entitled to use the force necessary to recover possession. He is not permitted to commit a breach of the public peace in obtaining possession. Most of the states provide statutory methods for obtaining possession. A complaint is filed with a court and an officer of the court ejects the tenant by order of court. Non-payment of rent does not entitle the landlord to terminate the lease, unless the lease expressly so provides. When the lease is forfeited according to its provisions, the landlord is entitled to take possession.
TRADE=MARKS AND NAMES
342. Trade=Marks in General. Persons are permitted to place marks on goods manufactured or sold by them, which indicate their origin or ownership. By this means, they are able to obtain the benefit of any superiority which their goods have over goods of other manufacturers or sellers. These marks placed on goods by owners or manufacturers are called trade-marks. A court has defined a trade-mark to be "A word, symbol, figure, form or device, or a combination thereof adopted or devised and used by a manufacturer or seller of goods to designate the origin or ownership of the goods, and used by him to distinguish the goods from those sold or manufactured by others."