Lease Didn't Require Owner's Permission to Begin Construction

A lease required a tenant to build a restaurant at a shopping center. The restaurant tenant sued the owner, claiming that the owner violated the lease by refusing to give it permission to start the construction. The owner argued that its permission wasn't required by the lease.

A Louisiana appeals court ruled that the owner didn't violate the lease because the lease didn't require the owner to give permission to the restaurant tenant to begin construction. The court noted that the lease's alteration clause said that “Lessee shall have the right to erect and install such other or additional improvements, and equipment on the Leased Premises as Lessee may, with Lessor's written permission …” But that section required written permission from the owner only for additional improvements, not for the initial construction work, said the court [Premier Restaurants, Inc. v. Kenner Plaza Shopping Center, LLC].