Owner Wins
February 13, 2015
Facts: A shopping center owner sued one of its tenants, challenging the enforceability of lease provisions conditioning the tenant’s obligation to open a store and pay rent on a specific retailer operating a store in the center on the commencement date of the lease. It also challenged the...
Owner Wins
February 13, 2015
Facts: A supermarket customer fell and was injured in the parking lot at the shopping center. She sued the tenant, claiming that the fall occurred because of a defective and dangerous condition there. The tenant notified the customer that the center’s owner was responsible for the lot’s...
Owner Loses
February 13, 2015
Facts: An owner claimed that its restaurant tenant breached the lease by failing to remove “trade” fixtures before moving out. The tenant argued that it wasn’t required to remove the fixtures because the owner hadn’t complied with the lease terms regarding fixture removal....
Feature
January 16, 2015
Retailers aren’t the only type of tenant that prioritizes advantageous signage. Major office building tenants like banks or financial firms may also demand special name and signage privileges, sometimes in return for renting a large block of space. Most commonly, a tenant will want the most...
Winners & Losers
January 16, 2015
Many shopping center leases include “radius clauses” banning tenants from opening similar businesses within a certain radius of the leased location. The idea is to prevent tenants from establishing essentially identical establishments to siphon off revenues and thereby minimize gross...
Pop Quiz
January 16, 2015
SITUATION
An electronics store leases 3,000 square feet of shopping center space. But the city won’t let the store operate until wheelchair ramps are installed and the parking lot is re-striped to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The owner refuses to do the work. So the...
Owner Loses
January 16, 2015
Facts: A retail lease provided that attorney’s fees and expenses would be awarded to the prevailing party in “any dispute” between the owner and tenant arising out of the use or occupancy of the space. The owner later sued the tenant for several claims involving lease violations....
Owner Loses
January 16, 2015
Facts: The lease between a shopping center owner and a supermarket tenant contained a restrictive-use covenant prohibiting the owner from leasing space to another grocery store or “food market.” The lease defined food market to include any vendor selling food items. The owner later...
Owner Wins
January 16, 2015
Facts: A tenant operating a securities firm moved out of its office building space three and a half years before the end of the lease term and stopped paying rent. The owner of the office building sued the tenant.
Feature
December 12, 2014
By Glenn S. Demby
