Drafting Tips

Avoid Ambiguity in Insurance Policy Requirements

January 28, 2014    
It’s crucial that your tenants are adequately insured. To make sure of this, your leases may list by name the insurance coverage that the tenants must get and maintain. If you think you’re covering all your bases by writing this into the lease in such a specific way, you could actually...
Q & A

'Bad' Lease Terms Affecting Contract

January 28, 2014    
Q: I lease property to a wide variety of tenants, and I have leases that are technical and complicated. If a term or terms in one of these leases turned out to be illegal, what effect would it have on the rest of the agreement?
Owner Wins

Owner Not Liable for Tenant’s Flood Damage

January 28, 2014    
Facts: The shopping center where a general store-type tenant rented space was damaged when the area experienced flooding. The tenant sued the owner of the shopping center, among other parties including the adjacent tenant (a grocery store) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The...
Owner Loses

Definition of ‘Adjoined’ Not Affected by Unusable Space

January 28, 2014    
Facts: A foot care clinic rented office space and exam rooms in a strip mall. Its lease provided that the owner wouldn’t place a retail business in space “adjoining” the tenant. The owner subsequently leased space in the strip mall to a liquor store. The liquor store and tenant...
Feature

Draft Airtight Assignment Clause for Shopping Center Space

December 17, 2013    
Most leases contain an assignment clause that requires tenants to get your consent before they may assign their leases. But some leases contain a loophole that risks giving the tenant too broad a right and being forced later to rent space to a tenant that isn’t appropriate for your shopping...
Q & A

Including ADA Expenditures in "Operating Costs"

December 17, 2013    
Q: I’m vigilant about making sure that the office building I recently bought is compliant with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), but it can be expensive to do this. How can I pass some of the costs through to tenants?
Owner Loses

Use of Specific Tenant's Name Binding on Owner

December 17, 2013    
Facts: A shopping center owner and a women’s clothing store signed a lease for space next to a large national bookstore. The lease’s cotenancy provision allowed the tenant to abate its minimum monthly rent if the bookstore stopped operating. After several years, the bookstore moved out...
Owner Loses

Owner Liable for Shopper's Injuries Outside Tenant's Store

December 17, 2013    
Facts: A shopper was hit by a motorist on the sidewalk outside of a shopping center tenant’s store. The shopper sued the center’s owner and the tenant. The owner and the tenant each asked a trial court for a judgment in its favor without a trial. Each said that the other had a duty of...
Online Alerts

Cautious Optimism Leading CRE into New Year

December 17, 2013    
The findings from a recent CIT Group Inc. survey may make 2014 a little brighter for the CRE industry. That’s because middle-market commercial real estate executives are expressing cautious optimism toward the market and are looking to take advantage of long-term investment opportunities,...
In the News

Cautious Optimism Leading CRE into New Year

December 17, 2013    
The findings from a recent CIT Group Inc. survey may make 2014 a little brighter for the CRE industry. That’s because middle-market commercial real estate executives are expressing cautious optimism toward the market and are looking to take advantage of long-term investment opportunities,...