Babcock

This is an appeal from a judgment of dismissal of appellant’s complaint below seeking a declaratory judgment against the appellee defendant below, individually and as Area Rent Director, Los Angeles Defense Area, that certain premises in that defense area owned by appellant are not subject to the rent control provisions of the Housing and Rent Act of 1947, SO U.S.C.A.Appendix, § 1881 et seq.

The complaint sought a preliminary injunction to restrain appellant from issuing a threatened order to fix rents on premises at rentals in the amount aggregating $1,200 per month, a sum $1,600 per month less than appellant’s leases of the premises provided should be paid, and requiring appellant to refund to his tenants a total amount computed by multiplying $1,600 by at least the number of months from the time appellee had the power to fix the rents till the filing of the complaint below. The district court issued a stay order against the appellee which is set aside on the dismissal.

The parties are agreed that there is a justiciable issue between them as to whether the premises are in the appellee’s control under the 1947 act. That act provides a method of adjudicating the issue in the…