Owen J. Roberts

“ In the case of a corporate, and often in that of an individual lessee, the landlord's right to collect rent from a bankrupt tenant was valueless. On the other hand, if the landlord, notwithstanding rejection by the trustee, was compelled by its terms, or elected pursuant to its provisions, to treat the lease as still in force, he might throughout the remainder of the term harass the discharged bankrupt by successive actions for accruing rent and so retard or prevent the debtor's financial rehabilitation which the statute was intended to aid. ”

“ By virtue of a covenant so providing the landlord might treat the bankruptcy as cause for reentry and termination of the leasehold estate. While, therefore, the rejection of a lease by a trustee in bankruptcy might, and usually did, spell possible or probable injury to the landlord, that fact gave him no standing as a creditor in the bankruptcy proceeding. Having in mind this state of affairs the purpose is clearly to give a landlord a provable claim for injury due to the rejection of his lease, whether the instrument contains a covenant of indemnity or not. ”

“ A salient element in such a reorganization is the discharge of all demands of whatsoever sort, executory and contingent, presently due or to mature in the future. Of such claims not the least important are those for rent to accrue under a lease, or for damages or indemnity payable because of the termination of a leasehold. ”