MERGER. ( 11 In the law of real property, the union of a lesser with a greater estate in the same property in the same person, with the re sult that the lesser estate is obliterated by the larger estate. Thus, if one is a tenant for years or for life of real estate, and the estate of his land lord or the reversioner in fee comes to him either by descent or purchase. the tenancy is extin guished in the larger estate, and the tenant he cone's owner in fee. lf, however, there he an intermediate estate. merger is prevented. Thus, if one be in possession of property as tenant for years. with remainder to another for life, and remainder to a third in fee, there will be no merger if the fee remainderman convey his estate to the tenant for years; hut if the owner of the life estate convey to the tenant for years, or vice versa, the tenancy for years will merge in the life estate. Courts of equity will in many eases, where justice requires it, in effect prevent merger by compelling the owner of the estate to hold the property as though the two estates were distinct. Thus, for example, if a tenant of real estate in his own right purchased the reversion as trustee for another, a court of equity would compel him to continue to collect the rents from himself as tenant and to account to the bene ficiary for them as trustee of I he reversion. In the same manner when the legal estate in prop erty becomes vested in one having an equitable claim with reference to the property. or an equitable estate as it is sometimes called, the equitable becomes merged in the legal estate un less kept alive for the purpose of furthering justice, when equity will treat the two interests as distinct notwithstanding the merger. Consult the authorities referred to under TRUSTS; AlOUT CACE.
( 2) The term is also applied in the law of contracts when it is held that the acceptance of a higher seeurity or obligation in lieu of a lower extinguishes the lower. 'Elms rights upon
coin met are merged in a judgment secured in an action upon the contraet. A simple debt merges in a promissory note given in its stead. and both Merge into a bond or obligation under seal given in their place. The effect is to limit the obligee to his action or remedy upon the higher obligation.
(3) The is also in use in the criminal law to denote both the inclusion of a lesser crime in a greater and the sinking of private wrongs in public Nvrong!, or crimes. Many greater crimes include lesser crimes; that is. the lesser crime is necessarily emnmitted in committing. the greater. as an assault in committing robbery or homi cide. The State may prosecute and punish either the greater or the lesser offense, but of course not both, since that would be putting a man twice in jeopardy for the lesser offense. In Eng land,where criminal prosecutions are usually con ducted by private persons, whenever a tort is also a crime, the private wrong is postponed to or merged in the public wrong, so that the injured party has no private remedy until after the con viction and punishment of the criminal. This does not hold in the United States. Consult the authorities given under TORT.
(4) By extension the term 'merger' is now ap plied to denote the consolidation of the control of two or more corporations in a single corpora tion by means of issuing the stock in exchange for a majority of the stock of the several cor porations to be controlled. The several corpora tions to be eontrelled arc then said to he merged in the corporation holding their stock. The several corporations preserve their separate legal identities, and there is no merger in a legal sense.