In 1940, the Supreme Court departed from the realization concept described in "Eisner v. Macomber" when it held in "Helvering v. Bruun", that "severance" is not an element of realization. In "Bruun", a taxpayer-landlord repossessed a property from a tenant—property that had been subject to a 99-year lease after the tenant failed to pay rent and taxes. The lease had allowed for the tenant to construct a new building or other improvements. The tenant had removed the existing building and built a new one. The value of the new building, as of the date of repossession, was $64,245.68. The government contended that the landlord realized a gain of $51,434.25, the difference between the value of the building at the date of repossession and the landlord's basis in the old building of $12,811.43. The landlord argued that there was no realization of the property because no transaction had occurred, and that the improvement of the property that created the gain was unseverable from the landlord's original capital.