Toobert

This is an appeal from a judgment in a suit brought by appellee restraining appellant 1 from collecting over-ceiling rents from tenants of five rented areas belonging to appellant in the Los Angeles Defense Rental Area and ordering a restitution of rents previously collected in violation of the Emergency Price Control Act and the Housing and Rent Act of 1947, 50 U.S.C.A. Appendix, §§ 901 et seq., 1881 et seq.

The district court found that appellant and one Hammond demanded and received the over-ceiling rents as “landlords” within rent regulations providing.

“ ‘Landlord’ includes an owner, lessor, sublessor, assignee or other person receiving or entitled to receive rent for the use or occupancy of any housing accommodations, or an agent of any of the foregoing.” 10 F.R. 13528 , and 12 F.R. 4331 .

Appellant concedes that he owned in fee these rented areas and that the rents collected on the five parcels by Hammond were over the ceiling provided by these acts. He contends that the tenants were not his tenants but of Hammond, who held the rented areas, first for a year under an oral contract of purchase of these five rented areas and two others, and second for the remaining period…