The subject of covenants in leases has been dealt with by the courts and legal writers time and time again until it would seem that there can be very little said on the subject which has not already been said before and perhaps said many times. However, the subject has not been before the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia many times and, when it has been before that court, no detailed consideration has been given it in most instances. General statements have been made, and general rules have been laid down, often without a reason for the statement or rule and sometimes with reasons not entirely supported by adequate authority. Some statutes on the subject have been summarily mentioned by the court, and others have yet to be mentioned and construed. The purpose of this paper is to consider covenants in general and covenants in leases which run with the land in particular. After a fairly general discussion of these two phases of the subject, an attempt will be made to analyze and discuss various West Virginia decisions and statutes having to do with covenants in leases which run with the land in the light of the common law and the law in other jurisdictions. It is hoped that in treating the subject in this manner this paper will be of some benefit to the court and to lawyers in their future consideration of this interesting, if confusing, subject
