De Peyster v. Michael
Court of Appeals of New York
6 N.Y. 467 (1852)
Relevant factsFree
Van Rensselaer leased land to Snyder subject to a condition that upon any future sale, the lessor (or his heirs/assigns) would receive one-quarter of the sale price; De Peyster (plaintiff), the lessor's assignee, sued to recover the land itself from Michael (defendant), the lessee's assignee, after Michael sold a portion of the land without paying De Peyster the required quarter-share, and the lower courts ruled the quarter-share provision void, entitling Michael to keep the land without payment.
IssueFree
Whether a landowner can sell his property with the condition that all subsequent sellers of the property must pay a fraction of the sale price to the original seller.