Owner Wins, Owner Loses

Amendment Didn’t Extinguish Excessive Vacancies Clause

July 26, 2013    

Facts: A tenant that sold electronic equipment leased space in a shopping center in 1973. A significant provision of the lease—the excessive vacancies clause—provided for abatement of rent in the event that the occupancy of the shopping center dropped below a certain...

Owner Must Send Statutory Notice of Automatic Renewal Provision

July 26, 2013    

Facts: The initial term of a lease between an owner and its tenant, a supermarket, was for 20 years and contained an option for the tenant to renew four times for five-year extension periods. Under the initial term, the lease would automatically renew unless the tenant notified...

Government Appropriation Trumps Tenant’s Option to Purchase

June 20, 2013    

Facts: A trust that owned property that had been used as retail space signed a lease with a tenant that planned to use the space as a fast-casual restaurant. The lease gave the tenant the option to purchase the property at any time for $110,000. The tenant spent $300,000 on...

Radius Restriction Is Reasonable Restraint on Tenant’s Business

June 20, 2013    

Facts: A commercial developer sought an anchor tenant for the mall it was building. As an inducement to attract a certain national big-box retailer, the developer signed a purchase and sale agreement with the tenant. Under the agreement, the developer agreed to sell 27 acres to...

Owner Couldn't Withhold Consent to Assignment Just to Get Higher Rent

May 23, 2013    

Facts: The owner of a gas station leased the building used as a convenience store and the underlying lot to a tenant for a five-year term. The lease gave the owner the option of renewing the lease every five years, with a total of five additional five-year terms. There would be...

Lease Guarantors’ Evidence Must Be More Than “Speculative”

May 23, 2013    

Facts: A shopping center tenant breached its lease with the owner. The owner sued the two guarantors of the lease. The guarantors both argued to the trial court that they had been fraudulently induced to enter into the lease by the center’s previous owner. They also sought...

Jury Trial Needed to Determine Ambiguous Lease Terms

May 23, 2013    

Facts: A national sunglass store rented 500 feet of space in a mall. The mall owner’s lease with the tenant required the tenant to pay on the first day of each calendar month “minimum rent, without any deduction or setoff” in an amount set forth in a schedule...

Tenant Triggered “Escape Clause”

April 24, 2013    

Facts: A mattress store tenant signed a lease with a shopping center owner for space next to a national chain grocery store. The monthly rent was $5,000. After the grocery store moved out of its space, the tenant stopped paying rent, gave a 60-day notice to the owner, and moved...

License Agreement Entitles Owner to Evict

April 5, 2013    

Facts: An owner licensed 24,000 square feet of retail space in its shopping center to a licensee to sell its merchandise. The owner later revoked the license, under which the licensee was required to leave the space in case of a revocation. However, the licensee refused to leave...

Tenant's Real Estate Taxes Not Capped Like CAM Costs

March 26, 2013    

Facts: A tenant rented space in a shopping center to run its bakery. It executed a letter of intent (LOI) with the center’s owner and signed a lease. The LOI set forth terms, including terms pertaining to CAM cost increases and taxes, which were later incorporated into the...

Yellowstone Injunction Granted for Restaurant Tenant

March 26, 2013    

Facts: An owner bought a building that already leased space to a restaurant, among other tenants. The tenants’ leases were assigned to the owner. The owner discovered that a tenant renting space for two bars and a delicatessen (restaurant tenant) in the building had been...

Video Gambling Lawsuit Filed Within Statute of Limitations

March 26, 2013    

Facts: An owner sued the personal guarantor of a commercial lease for a video gambling establishment for breach of contract. The guarantor contended that owner’s claim was barred by the statute of limitations because the owner didn’t attempt to enforce the guaranty...