David Properties, Inc. v. Selk

Selk (plaintiff/counter-defendant) sold land to David Properties (defendant/counter-claimant) but continued living in a dwelling on the property under a short lease that expired December 31, 1959; Selk overstayed for nearly two years without responding to two written letters from David Properties demanding $300 monthly rent for his continued occupancy. When a dispute arose over David Properties' final $9,000 installment payment, David Properties sought to offset the unpaid rent Selk owed, but the chancellor, sympathetic to Selk as an elderly man in modest circumstances, dismissed David Properties' counterclaim for that rent.