Gold Fever

American Scofflaw
Gold fever is alive and well

The lease contained a "gold clause," a feature of real estate contracts that allowed a landlord to base his rental rate on the price of gold. The clauses were once a common way of accounting for inflation and protecting landowners in long-term deals.

And if Forest City doesn't find another convincing defense against the clause, the company could see its annual rent jump from $35,000 to more than $1.4 million, based on the current price of gold.