Northeast Mental Health-Mental Retardation Commission v. V.M. Cleveland

WALLER, Chief Justice,

for the Court:

¶ 1. The Northeast Mental Health-Mental Retardation Commission challenges the validity of a ninety-nine-year fixed-lease agreement with a private contractor named V.M. Cleveland. The Commission contracted to pay Cleveland $18,000 per month over a ninety-nine-year period to build and to lease a facility on land owned by the Commission. Payments continued uninterrupted for ten years, until the Commission became concerned about the agreement’s legality. The Commission stopped making payments and sought to rescind the agreement.' The chancellor found that the…