Lanyon, Landlord; Clinton and Kernoghan, Tenants

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Judgment Date: 06 November 1894
• Date: 06 November 1894
• Court: Court of Appeal (Ireland)

Lanyon, Landlord; Clinton and Kernoghan, Tenants (1).

Appeal.

DETERMINED BY

THE QUEEN'S BENCH AND EXCHEQUER DIVISIONS

OF

THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE IN IRELAND,

AND BY

THE IRISH LAND COMMISSION,

AND ON APPEAL THEREFROM IN

THE COURT OF APPEAL,

AND BY

THE COURT FOR CROWN CASES RESERVED.

1895.

Landlord and tenant — Fair rent — Fine — Fee-farm grant set aside — Land Law (Ireland) Act, 1887, s. 2 — Land Law (Ireland) Act, 1881, s. 8.

The Land Commission had, under sect. 2 of the Land Law (Ireland) Act, 1887, set aside two fee-farm grants, on the ground that the acceptance thereof was procured by threat of eviction. The grantees had paid fines to the landlord in order to obtain the fee-farm grants. After the fee-farm grants had been set aside, the tenants served notices to fix fair rents of their holdings:—

Held, that in fixing the fair rents of the holdings it was competent for the Land Commission to have regard to the fines paid by the tenants for the fee-farm grants.

Appeal on a case stated by the Irish Land Commission for the consideration of the Court of Appeal.

The case stated was as follows:—“The above tenants' holdings had originally formed portion of the Mountcashel Estate, of which Sir Charles Lanyon became the purchaser in the Landed Estates Court, and at that time nearly the whole of the Mountcashel Estate was held by leases for years, which expired on the 1st November, 1875. Both these tenants were in occupation under such leases at the date of their expiration, and we refer to the said leases. Clinton's old rent under this lease was £9 13s. 6d., and Kernoghan's £10 16s. 10d. About the time that these leases expired Sir Charles Lanyon had his whole estate valued by three valuators, with a view of having his rents revised: one of which valuators being a Mr. Raphael, who had been connected with the estate since a period anterior to Sir Charles Lanyon's purchase, Sir Charles determined to act on his valuation, which was the lowest, and accordingly soon after the time that the old leases dropped a circular (to a copy of which we refer) was sent to each of the tenants, informing him of the amount of Mr. Raphael's valuation, and that he could have a thirty-one years' lease containing similar provisions to those contained in the expired lease at that rent, or a fee-farm grant at that rent on payment of a fine equal to eight years' purchase of the new rent. Such circulars were sent to the tenants in the present cases. On the 11th December, 1876, Mr. Lanyon, Sir Charles' eldest son, and agent, attended at the Adair

Arms Hotel, Ballymena, to collect rents and arrange with the various tenants the new contracts of tenancy. Mr. Hugh Orr, his solicitor, was with him; each of these tenants came and offered his rent; they came separately and alone, and Mr. Lanyon told them they could now have either a thirty-one years' lease, subject to similar conditions as those contained in their old leases, at the rents stated in Mr. Raphael's valuation, or fee-farm grants at that rent upon payment of eight years' rent as fine, but that he could not have one different from the rest as tenant from year to year, and that he could not have one holding out and the others not, and that a number of other tenants had already signed. Kernoghan stated that he objected, and said the rent was too dear, and he would rather have no lease. Clinton also objected to the rent and to taking a lease. Mr. Lanyon refused to take rent from either of them until he signed a proposal for a lease, and said if he did not do so the land was the landlord's. He also explained to each of them, that if he took a thirty-one years' lease, he could not sell, but if he signed for a thirty-one years' lease, he could afterwards have a fee-farm grant instead, and then could do what he liked with the land. Ultimately each of them signed a proposal for a thirty-one years' lease, paid the year's rent due, and left, and had no further negociations with Mr. Lanyon. The...