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What Happened: The tenant was behind on its rent, and the restaurant was closed. So, the landlord assumed that the property was abandoned and exercised its lease right to reenter and change the locks. It then sued the tenant for unpaid rent and late charges. The tenant denied that it had abandoned the property and countersued the landlord for illegal lockout and wrongful possession of the personal property inside the restaurant. Finding the landlord more credible, the court dismissed the tenant’s counterclaims and ordered it to pay $76,567 in back rent and damages.
