Owner Wins, Owner Loses

Owner Must Maintain Lighting Near Loading Dock

December 14, 2012    

Facts: A discount store rented space at a strip mall. The lease provided that the center’s owner would maintain the lighting in the common areas, including the area of the center behind the stores, which was used as a loading dock for merchandise to be brought into the...

Statute of Limitations Barred Owner’s Back Rent Claim

December 14, 2012    

Facts: An office building owner continued to accept rent from a tenant after its lease was over. The lease provided that the owner could sue the holdover tenant for liquidated damages if it failed to surrender the space when the term ended. Several months later, the owner sent a...

Lease Term Determining CAM Costs Not Ambiguous

November 19, 2012    

Facts: A restaurant tenant rented space in a strip center. The entire property was 82,875 square feet. The “buildingfootprint” and the total leasable area was 21,415 square feet. The restaurant tenant leased 6,281 square feet of the property. In addition to base rent...

"Out-of-Possession Landlord” Not Obligated to Make Repairs, Maintain Premises

November 19, 2012    

Facts: A restaurant tenant’s employee required surgery for a broken wrist that he suffered in a slip-and-fall accident on a spiral staircase, used to access the employee locker room. The employee claimed that the staircase was greasy, and that the steps were worn smooth....

Owner Not Responsible for Third-Party Disturbance of Tenant

November 19, 2012    

Facts: A shopping center tenant rented space to operate a nightclub. There was an unfinished office building across the street from the center, which the center’s owner told the tenant would be completed the following year. When the office building hadn’t been...

Tenant Had Ownership of Rooftop Sign

October 19, 2012    

Facts: An owner and a tenant disagreed about which party owned the outdoor advertising sign on top of the building. The owner asserted that the sign is an “improvement and appurtenance” to the building and therefore was conveyed to it when it bought the building. The...

Appeals Court Overturns Jury Verdict in Slip-and-Fall Case

October 19, 2012    

Facts: A business owner slipped on a puddle of oil on the floor of the warehouse space he rented. He sued the trust that owned the property and the trustee (the defendants) for negligent maintenance of the premises and a jury trial was held. The jury ruled in his favor. The...

Triple Net Lease Shielded Owner from Liability

September 28, 2012    

Facts: An appliance store leased a building and parking lot “as is” from the owner under a triple net (NNN) lease—that is, a lease in which a commercial tenant is responsible for maintaining the premises and for paying all utilities, taxes, and other charges...

Proof of Lack of Notice of Icy Condition Required

September 28, 2012    

Facts: The employee of a fish market that rented the ground floor in a commercial building slipped and fell on ice on the sidewalk outside the store. He sued the owner of the building and the tenant. He asserted that the tenant and owner were both negligent by allowing the icy...

Outbuildings Not Included in Lease’s Maintenance Requirement

August 30, 2012    

Facts: An employee of a truck rental company tenant sued the property’s owner for negligence, after the employee injured his back when he stepped into a hole in the floor of a tire “shed” that was on the property the owner leased to the tenant. The owner...

Owner's Misrepresentation Justified Lease Termination

August 30, 2012    

Facts: A fast-food restaurant signed a five-year lease with the owner of a building that had been used previously for a similar restaurant. Under the lease, the owner represented and warranted to the tenant that there were no existing restrictions, building and zoning ordinances...

Tenant's Security Deposit Not Credited to Unpaid Rent

August 30, 2012    

Facts: A real estate company rented a corner store and partial basement of a building for a 10-year lease term. The tenant paid $42,000 as a security deposit. Two guarantors also signed separate written guaranty agreements, guaranteeing full performance of the terms of the lease...