Cascade Car Wash, Inc. v. Laurent Watch Co., Inc.

Cascade Car Wash, Inc. appeals from a decision of the United States District Court affirming three orders of a Referee in Bankruptcy entered in favor of Laurent Watch Co., Inc., the petitioner in a proceeding under Chapter XI of the Bankruptcy Act ( 11 U.S.C. §§ 701-799 ). We affirm.

Cascade’s principal challenge is to an order of August 7, 1968 in which the Referee found that Laurent, as the as-signee of a written sublease which had been neither terminated nor forfeited, had a continuing and valuable leasehold interest in certain premises and that Cascade should be restrained from attempting to oust Laurent from possession. Cascade contends that the lease was forfeited when Laurent failed to cure its default in payment of the May, 1968 rental installment within the statutory three-day-notice period. Cal.Civ. Code, § 791.

We have reviewed the record and conclude that the Referee’s finding that the lease was not forfeited is not clearly erroneous. Rule 52(a), F.R. Civ.P. The lease documents in question clearly show successive assignments of a written sublease and not as Cascade argues, a series of successive subleases. The written sublease expressly provides for fifteen days…