Central Stone Co. v. Warning, No. ED99480, 2013 Mo. App. LEXIS 1301 (Mo. Ct. App. Nov. 5, 2013)

(tenant and landlord executed an agreement on May 3, 2010, for the lease of a farm from January 1, 2010 through December 31, 2012; lease provided that $51,100 annual rent was due “April 1 of each year of the lease”; when tenant failed to pay any rent during 2010, the landlord filed suit, and the trial court entered judgment in landlord’s favor; in affirming the judgment, the court ruled that the trial court properly considered extrinsic evidence showing the intent of the parties as to when rent was due; the court found that although the due date was ambiguous, the rent was due either May 3, 2010, or December 31, 2010; under either interpretation, the tenant breached the contract; the court urged practitioners drafting leases that would be executed after the effective date of the lease to include a clause specifying that the initial payment was “due upon execution” or upon some specific date thereafter).