Thunderstik Lodge, Inc. v. Reuer

613 N.W.2d 44 (2000)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Thunderstik Lodge, Inc. (P) placed an advertisement seeking hunting land in the Chamberlain newspaper. Ds responded. Following considerable negotiations, with both sides represented by attorneys, a lease agreement between P and D was signed. The lease was to be in effect, for an initial ten-year period, followed by two options to renew for an additional ten years each. The yearly rental increased for each ten-year renewal period. The lease also had a savings clause: If any portion of this lease is held to be invalid or unenforceable, the remainder of this lease shall not be affected thereby, and such remainder shall be valid and enforced to the fullest extent permitted by law. At the same time the lease was executed, P signed a purchase agreement, buying five acres of land from the Ds for $1,500. Thunderstik Lodge, a 'first-class hunting lodge,' was constructed on this acreage. The relationship between the parties began to deteriorate in 1996. One of the Ds was fired from his position as a guide for the lodge, and D accused P of illegal hunting practices on the leased land. Ds claim that the provisions of the contract create a thirty-year lease, and are void under South Dakota law. In a declaratory action, the circuit court ruled that the second of the two ten-year options was invalid, but severable, leaving the remainder of the lease intact and enforceable. Ds appealed.