WestPoint Marine, Inc. v. Prange

I respectfully dissent and would reverse the judgment of the trial court, remanding with instructions that the option to purchase be honored.

Prange owns a 49-acre tract of land on the west bank of the Illinois River, south of Hardin, Illinois. It appears the tract is primarily used for barge fleeting operations. In 1993, the Pranges entered into a 25-year lease with Grantz’s Marine Service, Inc., covering “approximately five hundred (500) feet of river frontage,” and giving Grantz’s Marine a first option to purchase the leased premises. That lease was assigned to WestPoint Marine in 1996. On…