Owner Wins

Court Sides with Landlord in He Said/She Said Eviction Case

March 23, 2023    

What Happened: In January 2021, a tenant signed an offer to purchase the building with closing to occur within 45 days. But after six months of unsuccessful negotiation, the deal fell through. The landlord then sued to evict the tenant for failing to pay rent for the period...

Landlord that Didn’t Cash Tenant’s Rent Payment Check Didn’t Waive Right to Evict

February 23, 2023    

What Happened: A restaurant exercised its renewal option but furnished notice only after the option period had expired. A month later, the landlord sold the property and notified the new owner that the restaurant’s tenancy was now month to month. The tenant sent the next...

Landlord Breached First, But Tenant Breached Materially

February 23, 2023    

What Happened: A landlord got agita after reading in the local newspaper that its tenant, the local Golden Corral restaurant, had closed down. Upon finding the property apparently abandoned and in very dirty condition, it changed the locks. It then sent the tenant a notice to...

Who's Responsible for Restoring Office Space to Original Condition at Lease’s End?

December 22, 2022    

What Happened: The landlord and tenant performed a massive buildout to make the more than 100,000 square feet of office space leased suitable for a financial services firm with “immense computing power” and infrastructure needs. Once the 15-year lease expired, the...

Medical Center Exhibited Clear Intent to Abandon Leased Premises

December 22, 2022    

What Happened: Two years into a five-year lease, a medical center stopped paying rent and abandoned the property. At least that’s what it looked like to the property manager who found the place empty and stripped of all furnishings. The sign on the door indicating that the...

Real Estate Agent's Duplicity Doesn't Invalidate Bankruptcy Debtor's Lease Rejection

November 29, 2022    

What Happened: J.C. Penney (JCP) subleased commercial property to Klairmont at below-market rates....

Another Tenant's COVID Frustration Defense Comes Up Empty

October 24, 2022    

What Happened: Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: A restaurant tenant struggled to pay rent after the governor issued a COVID-19 shutdown order in...

No Implied Warranty of Habitability in Commercial Leases in Nevada

October 24, 2022    

What Happened: Frustrated by the landlord’s failure to remedy unsanitary conditions at the site, a warehouse tenant moved out of the property and stopped paying rent. In the lawsuit that followed, the tenant claimed the landlord violated the implied warranty of...

Guarantor on the Hook for Landlord's Consequential Damages

September 23, 2022    

What Happened: A landlord sued Saks, Inc., for failure to honor a corporate guaranty of its subsidiary’s obligation to pay rent under its shopping center lease. Saks owes us attorneys’ fees and consequential damages covering the loss in the property’s value we...

NYC Landlord Not Guilty of Harassing Nonpaying Tenant

September 23, 2022    

What Happened: In May 2020, with the pandemic in full rage, New York City adopted a law banning commercial landlords from harassing tenants. A bridal shop tenant invoked the law after the landlord sued it and its guarantor for unpaid rent and additional rent for real estate tax...

COVID-19 Shutdown Orders Are Not a “Taking” Under the Lease

August 29, 2022    

 What Happened: A clothing retailer leased space for “[a]ny general retail use, including the display and sale of apparel, shoes and accessories, gifts, cards, furniture, home furnishings...

OK to Evict Shopping Center Tenant for Creating a Nuisance Without Opportunity to Cure

July 20, 2022    

What Happened: Shopping center tenants complained to the landlord about the “overwhelming unpleasant possibly toxic odors” emanating from their neighboring bar lounge tenant whose patrons were apparently allowed to smoke tobacco and marijuana with impunity. The...