What Happened: In 2019, a clothing store signed a 10-year lease on commercial property in Chicago, starting in September 2020. But the COVID-19 pandemic hit and the tenant never moved in. In May 2021, the landlord sold the building and terminated the lease. In addition to $1.4...
What Happened: A restaurant tenant with a habit of paying rent late took advantage of the COVID-19 shutdown to make some improvements to the space at its own expense, assuming that it would be able to renew once the lease came to an end in August 2021. But the tenant was still...
What Happened: The town of Santa Monica passed an ordinance requiring a commercial building leased to a delicatessen/catering firm to be retrofitted for earthquakes. The landlord claimed that the tenant, who had leased the building since 1973, was the real owner and thus...
What Happened: February 2020 was the last month a high-end steak house restaurant tenant paid full rent. When COVID-19 hit, the restaurant had to shut down and later could open only for outdoors and indoor dining at very limited capacity. In September, the tenant moved out at...
What Happened: The employee of a tenant suffered serious injury after a heavy box fell on top of him. The victim blamed the accident on the leaky warehouse roof, which caused the box to become waterlogged and weakened the palette holding it up. He sued the landlord for...
What Happened: What happens when a tenant signs a five-year lease on a warehouse for use as an indoor cannabis cultivation facility but can’t get the necessary permits because the property doesn’t have an adequate fire sprinkler system? The tenant figured the...
What Happened: An office tenant moved out when quality testing of the air inside an office building revealed the presence of asbestos at unsafe levels. The landlord sued for unpaid rent, and the tenant countersued the landlord for negligence by undertaking repairs on the roof...
What Happened: A government tenant that had leased the floor of an office building for nearly 30 years left behind a mess when it moved out. In addition to removing electronic door locks, office partitions, a fire and alarm system, and other items the landlord claimed as its own...
What Happened: In 2007, Renaissance signed a lease assignment and took over as tenant of property in a shopping center. When the landlord sought to refinance the property two years later, it discovered that the below-ground space contained excessive amounts of Perchloroethylene...
What Happened: A car wash tenant insisted that it had made an oral agreement with the previous landlord limiting its obligation to pay to fixed rent only. But the new landlord didn’t buy it and insisted that the tenant also pay operating expenses and taxes. Even if there...
