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DRAFT FOR ATTORNEY REVIEW — NOT FINAL

Green v. Superior Court, 517 P.2d 1168 (1974)

Citation
Green v. Superior Court, 517 P.2d 1168 (1974)
Parent Document
Green v. Superior Court, 517 P.2d 1168 (1974)
Jurisdiction
California (state)
Effective Date
1974-01-15

Other Sections in This Document (186)

Full Text

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(1923) 62 Cal.App. 309, 315 [217 P. 114].) These decisions, however, rested primarily upon the ancient property doctrine of “independent covenants,” under which a tenant’s obligation to pay rent was viewed as a continuing obligation which was not excused by the landlord’s failure to fulfill any covenant of repair he may have assumed. As indicated earlier in this opinion, the entire foundation of the “independent covenants” doctrine rested on the central role played by land in the lease transaction of the Middle Ages; the doctrine simply reflected the fact that in those early times covenants regarding the maintenance of buildings were generally “incidental” to the furnishing of land, and did not go to the root of the consideration for the lease. In that setting, a landlord’s breach of such an “incidental” covenant to repair was reasonably considered insufficient to justify the tenant’s refusal to pay rent, the tenant’s main obligation under the lease. 20 *635