The Battle for the Rainier-Grand Hotel
Federal marshals forcibly remove a hotel operator as a bitter legal battle over a lease expiration reaches a breaking point.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Under a writ of restitution issued by Federal Judge Hanford on Friday, Deputy United States Marshals Tyler and Crosby removed H. B. Dunbar from the possession of the building known as the Rainier-Grand hotel and delivered the property to W. McC. White and Hugh Wilson, the plaintiffs in the action. The action was based on the ground that Dunbar's lease of the premises expired on December 31, 1903. The contest had been waged actively in the local courts for more than six weeks. The first action involving the property was brought by the widow and heirs of John Noyes, who own the building, early in December. This was a suit for the cancellation of the lease held by Dunbar on the ground that he had violated its provisions in several material respects. This suit is still pending in the state courts. The action which resulted in giving possession of the hotel to White and Wilson was commenced on Friday, and the plaintiffs based their claim for possession upon a lease executed to them several months ago by Mrs. Noyes and the remaining heirs.
“Dunbar failed to file a counter bond to retain the property within the time allowed by law.”
This landlord-tenant dispute over a major commercial property highlights how high-stakes litigation over lease expiration and building control has long been a fixture of urban development in Washington. The use of federal marshals to resolve a commercial dispute reflects the aggressive nature of property-rights enforcement at the turn of the century.
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