No Trial Needed to Rule that Assignee Breached Lease

What Happened: Less than six months after assuming the responsibilities of the lease from the previous tenant, the assignee notified the landlord that it planned to close its furniture rental store. When it became clear that the assignee wasn’t going to pay the remaining balance due as the lease required in the event of tenant termination, the landlord demanded accelerated rent. The assignee refused, and the landlord took his case to court.

Ruling: The Pennsylvania federal court granted the landlord’s summary judgment—that is, ruled in its favor without a trial.

Reasoning: Courts won’t grant summary judgment if there are ambiguities in the lease that must be resolved at trial. But there were no such ambiguities in this case, at least with regard to the assignee’s having breached the lease, the court explained. The lease clearly stated that a breach occurs when the tenant:

vacates the demised premises. . . or manifests an intention to terminate this Lease other than in accordance with the terms hereof. . . without first having paid and satisfactorily continued to pay monthly installments of rent in full for all rents then due or that may thereafter become due until the full end and expiration of the then current term.

Having resolved that the assignee was liable, the court concluded that the only remaining business was to hold a proceeding to determine the amount of damages it must pay.

• Aidan's Real Estate Invs. v. Aaron's Inc.:  2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 157177