Hargrove v. State

W. F. Morgan (the tenant) sued Mrs. P. J. Limbaugh (the landlord) for treble damages for failing and refusing to refund, in accordance with an order of the Administrator for the defense-area in which the rented property was located, rent collected in excess of that permitted under the Emergency Price Control Act of 1942 as amended. The petition alleged in substance: that the property in question was subject to the maximum rent regulations issued by the Office of Price Administration; that on January 16, 1947, the Area Rent Office issued an order reducing the maximum rent on the premises involved retroactively from August 1, 1946, from $50 per month to $27.50 per month, and ordered the defendant to refund to the plaintiff the excess charged within 30 days from the date of the order; that the defendant failed and refused to refund said overcharge in accordance with the order, which constituted a violation of the act and gave the plaintiff the right to sue for three times the amount of the overcharge, which was $22.50 per month for five months, or $112.50. The suit was for $337.50 plus attorneys fees. The trial court dismissed the petition on a general demurrer and the exception is to that judgment.