Tenant’s Request for Buildout Delay Isn’t an Anticipatory Breach

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. Three months later, the tenant sent an email telling the landlord it wanted to delay the buildout and push back the rent commencement date by seven months.