What Happened: A Texas owner paid $60,000 for a warehouse back in 1999. In 2014, he leased the property to a welding firm. After a short lease term, the building remained empty for several years with the owner steadily investing in improvements for future rentals. But in 2018, a...
What Happened: After siding with the landlord on all claims, a New York court had one more issue to decide, namely, whether the lease clause requiring the tenant to pay 200 percent of base rent as holdover rent was enforceable. The tenant claimed that 200 percent was an...
What Happened: A lease required restaurant corporation tenant Crab House Ltd. to pay additional rent if it or any “affiliated company” were to open a competing business within a five-mile radius. A couple of years later, Crab House was acquired by Landry’s...
What Happened: A lease provided that it would expire in July 2016 unless the tenant exercised its renewal option. The tenant acknowledged that it never provided the required written notice but contended that it renewed via its conduct, noting that the landlord accepted its...
What Happened: A 70-year-old supermarket employee who just finished her shift stepped into a pothole while walking to her car. The workers comp board rejected her claim for benefits. Citing provisions in the supermarket’s lease making the landlord responsible for...
What Happened: Two years into its five-year term, a tenant leasing space for use as an airport hangar exercised its right to terminate early, without penalty, upon 180 days’ notice. The plan was for the tenant to remain in the space until the sides reached agreement on a...
What Happened: A fitness center tenant that had to close down temporarily in response to the governor’s COVID-19 pandemic closure orders remained in its space but didn’t pay rent for the time it was closed. The landlord sued, and the tenant relied on the lease force...
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...
What Happened: A landlord was concerned that a fitness center that was way behind on rent would suddenly move and take all of its equipment. So, it went to court to get what in Illinois is called a “distress warrant” granting a lien on a tenant’s personal...
What Happened: Upon taking possession of the premises she had just leased for use as a daycare center, a tenant detected a strange odor. It turned out to be mold, and the environmental consultant’s report showed that it was all over the walls and in the carpeting of the...
What Happened: Under the terms of a 10-year restaurant lease, the obligation to pay rent didn’t kick in until the buildout was complete and the tenant began operating in the space. With work on the premises still to be done, the governor issued a COVID-19 shutdown order....
