SUNSET FUEL & ENGINEERING CO., an Oregon corporation, Respondent, v. DALE COMPTON and BENJAMIN F. MISSLER, Appellants, DALE COMPTON and BENJAMIN F. MISSLER, Third-Party Plaintiffs, v. SUNSET FUEL AND ENGINEERING CO., and CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD, INC., Third-Party Defendants, 97 Ore. App. 244

Summary

The lessees maintained that under Or. Rev. Stat. § 91.090 the FED action terminated the lease, which released them from liability for damages accruing after the date of termination. The court affirmed the judgment for future rent and held that the lessees, by failing to pay rent, forfeited their tight to their estate in the property but remained liable for damages for breach of the agreement to rent the premises in the future. Section 91.090 only terminated the tenancy upon breach of the lease. It did not terminate the lease itself. The contractual obligations under the lease remained in effect, and the terminated leasehold estate did not impair the rights of the lessor from recovering under the lessees' contractual obligation or liability for anticipatory breach of the covenant to rent the premises in the future.