The Rent Was Due: A 15-Year Lease and a $3,886 Bill
Sarah Woodward, executor of Henry S. Woodward’s estate, sued Gustave Winehill over a Maynard’s Plat lease—asking for back rent, double rent and possession of the property.
Another suit against Gustave Winehill was begun in the superior court yesterday by Sarah Woodward, individually and as executrix of the last will and testament of Henry S. Woodward, deceased. The action concerns a fifteen-year lease of lot 8, block 11, Maynard's plat, from July 1, 1890, at a monthly rental of $200. It is claimed that the conditions of the lease have been broken and that there is now due for rent $3,886.57. Plaintiff asks for restitution of the premises, double rent, damages at the rate of $13.33 1-3 per day for each day she has been unlawfully kept out of possession, and for a judgment determining the lease. A writ of restitution was issued from Judge Osborn's court, after approval of a bond for $1,500. The sureties are William M. Calhoun and C. L. Denny.
Henrietta Winehill, W. E. Crows, James P. Gleason, Mattie Ford, Susan N. Ford, Louis Gnecci, Apolomia Gnecci, Dominick Rulle and B. B. Phillips are also parties defendant.
“Plaintiff asks for restitution of the premises, double rent, damages at the rate of $13.33 1-3 per day...”
Rent, arrears, eviction and daily penalties are still the vocabulary of Seattle’s housing fights. This 1895 case shows that the legal machinery of landlord-tenant conflict was already well oiled in the city’s early years.
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