Owner Wins

Owner Can't Collect Late Fees After Lease Was Terminated

January 25, 2011    

Facts: An owner and a staffing agency tenant signed a three-year lease for office space. Under the lease terms, the owner could charge a $25-per-day late-rent fee. The owner later sued the tenant for breach of the lease, and the tenant abandoned the space before the end of the lease term...

Customer Must Show Denial of Request for Reasonable Accommodations

December 28, 2010    

Facts: While shopping, a wheelchair-bound mall customer encountered architectural barriers that she claimed discriminated against her on the basis of her disability. The customer sued the mall's owner and property manager for alleged violations of Title III of the Americans with...

Owner Not Liable for Labor Law Violations

November 24, 2010    

Facts: As part of his duties, a maintenance worker serviced the lights in an office building owned by a real estate company (owner) and managed by an office management corporation (manager). One of the building's tenants contacted the manager and requested that the worker change an...

Tenant Must Strictly Comply with Terms of Renewal Option

October 31, 2010    

Facts: A tenant operated a restaurant-bar on the first floor of a commercial building. A company controlled by the president of the tenant's company had sold the entire building to a new owner in a sale-leaseback transaction whereby the owner leased the first floor back to the tenant...

Lease's Non-Compete Covenant Didn't Apply to Prior Tenants

October 31, 2010    

Facts: A tenant and owner signed a lease extension for shopping center restaurant space that the tenant had been renting to run its pizza parlor. The extended lease term was from June 1, 2010, to May 31, 2026.

Tenant with Stairwell Access Could Not Terminate Over Broken Elevator

October 23, 2010    

Facts: A garment manufacturer tenant signed a lease for the seventh-floor of a building. The tenant and owner acknowledged that because the building's elevator was undergoing renovations, it might not be available for service at the start of the lease term. To account for the possible...

Owner Entitled to Full Rent for Abandoned Buildings

October 23, 2010    

Facts: An owner sued a tenant for breaching its two leases after the tenant abandoned both of the owner's buildings that it rented and refused to pay the remaining rent due under the leases. Because the tenant failed to appear at two summary dispossess proceedings for nonpayment of...

Property Manager's Testimony Contradicted by Evidence

October 23, 2010    

Facts: A tenant rented commercial space for its beauty salon under a 10-year lease that required rent plus a percentage of the building's operating costs (overhead charge). The estimated monthly overhead charge was $800, and the owner was obligated to calculate the actual overhead...

Affidavit Used as Evidence of Tenant's Personal Guaranty Default

September 30, 2010    

Facts: A tenant signed a lease for office building space. At the same time, the tenant also signed a personal guaranty, guaranteeing his rent obligations under the five-year lease. The tenant moved out of its office space a year before the lease term was to end, but the owner didn't...

Mall's Kiosk Placement Did Not Cause Slip-and-Fall

August 31, 2010    

Facts: A customer sued a shopping mall after she slipped and fell down concrete steps leading to a fountain, because she was looking at merchandise on a kiosk. The customer claimed that the mall's placement of the kiosk in relation to the stairs created a dangerous condition.

Property Manager Had “Corporate Authority” to Evict Under Agreement

August 31, 2010    

Facts: A doctor rented space in a medical office building owned by a real estate corporation. The corporation sued the doctor for nonpayment of rent. The building's property management company notified the doctor that he had 60 days in which to vacate the space; otherwise, the...

Tenant Can't Use Lease Drafts to Dispute Owner's Termination

July 25, 2010    

Facts: A drugstore tenant signed a lease with the owner of a property that was about to be developed into a shopping center. The tenant and owner agreed that unless the center had been built by a specified date, either party would have the right to terminate the lease—for any reason...