Retaking Possession Doesn’t Prove Landlord Accepted Tenant’s Surrender

What Happened: Seven years into its 10-year lease, a restaurant decided to permanently shut down its business and surrender the premises to the shopping center landlord. The key question: Did the landlord actually accept the surrender? The landlord claimed it did no such thing and sued the tenant for past-due rent and rent remaining on the lease. The tenant won the first round when the trial court ruled that in taking exclusive control over the premises, the landlord accepted the surrender.