George H. Dean Co. v. Pappas

We are asked to construe the tax escalator provision in a lease.2

When they entered into their lease on December 21, 1965, the parties contemplated the construction of a two-story commercial building on a site containing 151,604 square feet of land. The plaintiff, George H. Dean Co. (Dean), was to occupy the entire first floor. An unrelated party occupied the second floor, when it was later completed. Article III of the lease fixed annual rent at $98,000 during the twenty-five year term of the lease and during a five-year extension term should Dean elect to exercise its option for an…