Owner Couldn't Recalculate Tenant's CAM Cost Share After 11 Years

A shopping center owner calculated a tenant's pro rata share of CAM costs using a formula based on the size of the tenant's space and the size of the center. The tenant sued the owner, claiming that it was overcharged for its share of CAM costs and was entitled to a refund. The owner responded that, because of a computer error, over 31,000 square feet of the tenant's space had been left out of the calculation of the tenant's pro rata share of CAM costs, so the tenant had actually been undercharged. The tenant and the owner settled the tenant's overcharge claim.

As for the undercharge, a Florida appeals court ruled that the owner had waived its right to recalculate the tenant's pro rata share of CAM costs. The court said that it didn't matter if the owner had mistakenly or intentionally left out the 31,000 square feet in its original calculation. For 11 years, the tenant and owner had relied on that calculation, the court said. Since the owner took no action to recalculate the tenant's pro rata share of CAM costs over this long period, it had waived its right to recalculate it now, the court reasoned [Miracle Center Assocs. v. Scandinavian Health Spa, Inc.].