Hohn v Mailler

Hohn v Mailler concerned a dispute between landlords (the plaintiffs) and a former tenant (the defendant) regarding the proceeds of a sorghum crop harvested after the termination of a fixed-term lease. The central issue revolved around the interpretation and operation of a contractual clause within the lease that provided for "Re-entry for Harvest".

The court was required to determine whether the landlords were entitled to the net proceeds of the sorghum crop harvested by the former tenant after the lease had expired. This involved considering the legal concept of emblements, which traditionally grants a tenant the right to re-enter land to harvest crops sown during their tenancy but not yet reaped at the end of the term, and how such a right interacted with the specific contractual provisions of the lease.

The Court of Appeal allowed the landlords' appeal, setting aside previous orders. It held that the "Re-entry for Harvest" clause, when read in conjunction with the lease agreement, entitled the landlords to the net proceeds of the sorghum crop. The court reasoned that the clause effectively preserved the landlords' right to the crop in circumstances where the tenant remained in possession after the lease expired to harvest it, thereby preventing the tenant from retaining the profits. Consequently, the court ordered that the defendant pay the plaintiffs the net proceeds of the harvest and sale of the sorghum crop, along with interest, and also ordered the defendant to pay the plaintiffs' costs of the proceedings and the costs of the appeal.