Feature
January 23, 2013
By David S. Houston, Esq.
Q & A
January 23, 2013
Q: I rented space to a tenant under a lease that contained an arbitration provision. The provision specified that all items except for those pertaining to rent—specifically, nonpayment of rent—must be arbitrated. The tenant violated the terms of its lease by refusing to: (1) pay for the...
In the News
January 23, 2013
A New York state judge harshly criticized a major toy retailer recently for using litigation as a tactic in negotiating a new lease for its Times Square store in Manhattan. The court faulted the tenant’s filing of a lawsuit during lease negotiations, emphasizing the fact that a borderline...
Owner Wins
January 23, 2013
Facts: An employee was injured while working at a warehouse leased by his employer. The floor of the warehouse collapsed while the employee was stacking steel in a bay. The basement under the bay was rented to another tenant. The employee and the steel fell into the basement. The employee suffered...
Owner Loses
January 23, 2013
Facts: A pedestrian slipped and fell on ice in the parking lot of a shopping center. She sued the owner of the property. The owner asserted that the tenant that rented the store near the parking lot was obligated to keep not only its space and the area adjacent to the store but also the parking lot...
In the News
January 22, 2013
Who knew that biotech players would be the ones to lead a boom in one of the most historic areas in the country? Despite being home to Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass., just outside of Boston, has also harbored a wasteland of empty lots where factories once were located but that haven’t...
Feature
December 14, 2012
In this economy, it’s tough enough to fill your center with tenants, without inadvertently letting existing ones sublet space to businesses and restaurants that compete with your leasing efforts. For example, if you’re searching for a tenant to fill vacant restaurant space at your...
Owner Loses
December 14, 2012
Facts: A discount store rented space at a strip mall. The lease provided that the center’s owner would maintain the lighting in the common areas, including the area of the center behind the stores, which was used as a loading dock for merchandise to be brought into the tenant’s store....
Owner Loses
December 14, 2012
Facts: An office building owner continued to accept rent from a tenant after its lease was over. The lease provided that the owner could sue the holdover tenant for liquidated damages if it failed to surrender the space when the term ended. Several months later, the owner sent a “Notice to...
Feature
November 19, 2012
Generally, commercial leases require tenants to return space in the same condition as it was rented to them. There’s some leeway for “ordinary wear and tear” to the space. But there are several ways that a tenant can negatively affect you when it moves out, or “surrenders...
