Tenant Wins

Tenant Not Bound by Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing

August 30, 2017    

Facts: A shopping center owner decided to construct a new set of buildings within the shopping center grounds, which would house tenants that would be beneficial to its anchor store, a national clothing retailer. The retailer’s lease contains a clause that requires the...

Tenant's Use of Cooking Equipment Permitted by Lease

July 31, 2017    

Facts: A sushi restaurant began operating in the basement space of a mixed-use brownstone building that included other commercial space and some apartments. It became apparent that cooking odors were wafting into the first-floor commercial space, which was vacant but being shown...

Landlord Couldn't Collect 'Additional Rent' Not Mentioned in Lease

June 29, 2017    

Facts: A shopping center owner and a restaurant tenant signed a lease for a certain amount of space. Under the lease, the tenant was required to pay monthly rent consisting of two components. The first component, called “Minimum Rent,” involved a flat, base...

Right of First Refusal Extinguished Upon Exercise of Option

March 29, 2017    

Facts: Two tenants leased space at a property. The first tenant had a right of first refusal to buy the entire property, including the second tenant’s space, if a third party made an offer. The second tenant had the option to buy its own space at a certain year in its...

Tenant Entitled to Yellowstone Injunction While Awaiting Lease Decision

February 28, 2017    

Facts: A souvenir shop tenant’s lease that was signed in 2000 required it to provide an estoppel certificate to the owner of the building within 10 days. There was a dispute between the owner and tenant as to whether that version of the lease or a new lease that had been...

Foreseeability of Tenant’s Denied License Put Risk on Landlord

January 31, 2017    

Facts: In order to open and operate a daycare under state law, Florida daycare tenants must first sign a lease for space before applying for a license to operate the business. A daycare executed a five-year commercial lease for two store spaces in a shopping center while it...

Course of Conduct Let Tenant Off the Hook for CAM Costs

December 22, 2016    

Facts: A national clothing retailer signed a lease for space at a shopping center. Later, when the center’s owner tried to charge the tenant for center expenses, the tenant refused to pay. The tenant claimed that the lease doesn’t require it to pay for heating,...

Yellowstone Injunction Awarded to Give Longer Cure Period

November 30, 2016    

Facts: A tenant that operated a gym received a notice from the owner of its space ordering it to obtain the proper permits to operate its business, which were required by its lease. The tenant asked a New York trial court for a Yellowstone injunction, which would toll—that...

Landlord Retained Responsibility for Ice Removal

August 22, 2016    

Facts: A grocery store customer who slipped and fell on ice in the strip mall’s parking lot sued the grocery store tenant, the center’s owner, and the snow-removal contractor and subcontractor for her injuries. She asserted that they all had a duty of care to keep...

Lease Was Silent on Vacating After Owner’s Failure to Send Notices

July 29, 2016    

Facts: Two years after it signed a 15-year lease, a tenant vacated and abandoned its space. The owner sued the tenant and the two guarantors for the lease for damages including unpaid rent and other costs it incurred for the three months that passed before it was able to find a...

Tenant Inadvertently, Not 'Willfully,' Held Over Space

June 29, 2016    

Facts: A tenant and owner negotiated a four-month lease for commercial space, with an option to renew on a month-to-month basis. The tenant failed to pay rent for two months in a row, but asked the owner to extend the lease for an additional month past the original lease term....

Tenant Could Remove Fixtures During Unofficial Extension Period

March 24, 2016    

Facts: A restaurant tenant faced with an eviction order offered the owner of the space $40,000 to extend the time it could use the space after it was supposed to vacate. The tenant wanted to use the extra time to work out a deal with a potential buyer of the restaurant, who...

Page
of 11Next