Lochner, Receiver v. Martin

The sole question presented on this appeal is whether landlords may retain the advance payment of rent for the last five months of a five-year lease, where the tenant’s use and enjoyment of the premises for the last five months of the term was prevented by the tenant’s own default and where the lease contains no provision for a refund in the event of such default.

The facts are undisputed. In October, 1952, at the time of the signing of the five-year lease, Samuel Gordon, tenant, paid Joseph J. Martin and his wife, landlords, in addition to a regular monthly rental payment, the net sum of…