Owner Wins

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Facts: A shopping center tenant breached its lease with the owner. The owner sued the two guarantors of the lease. The guarantors both argued to the trial court that they had been fraudulently induced to enter into the lease by the center’s previous owner. They also sought damages “suffered as a result of the fraudulent inducement to enter into the lease.” The owner and the guarantors each asked the trial court for a judgment in its favor without a trial.

Facts: A national sunglass store rented 500 feet of space in a mall. The mall owner’s lease with the tenant required the tenant to pay on the first day of each calendar month “minimum rent, without any deduction or setoff” in an amount set forth in a schedule to the lease. In addition to the minimum rent, the lease obligated the tenant to pay as “percentage rent” during each lease year, without any deduction or setoff, the percentage of gross sales in excess of the minimum basis of sales set forth in the schedule.

Facts: An owner licensed 24,000 square feet of retail space in its shopping center to a licensee to sell its merchandise. The owner later revoked the license, under which the licensee was required to leave the space in case of a revocation. However, the licensee refused to leave, and the owner filed an eviction proceeding under state law. The licensee claimed that it had the same rights that it would’ve been entitled to under a lease, including the right to stay in the space until the matter was settled.

Facts: A tenant rented space in a shopping center to run its bakery. It executed a letter of intent (LOI) with the center’s owner and signed a lease. The LOI set forth terms, including terms pertaining to CAM cost increases and taxes, which were later incorporated into the lease. Six months after the lease was signed, the owner sold the shopping center to a new owner and assigned to it the tenants’ leases.

Facts: An owner sued the personal guarantor of a commercial lease for a video gambling establishment for breach of contract. The guarantor contended that owner’s claim was barred by the statute of limitations because the owner didn’t attempt to enforce the guaranty within three years after the tenant ceased making rent payments.

Facts: A tenant leased space at a shopping center for its sporting goods store. The center was in a flood zone and had been flooded several times, ruining the inventory of the center’s tenants each time. Under the lease, the tenant was required to have an “all-risk” insurance policy that would cover flood-related damage, including improvements, furniture, and lost inventory. As a result of a tropical storm, a nearby river flooded the center and the area was evacuated and declared a major disaster area.

Facts: A tenant who provided physical therapy services rented space on the top floor of a five-story building. After three months, the tenant stopped paying full rent. The owner sued the tenant to recover the space and won. The tenant sued the owner for constructive eviction. The tenant claimed that the owner’s failure to maintain the site and elevator caused it to lose many patients, and to suffer numerous cancellations, leading to it losing $250,000 in business.

Decision: A New York trial court ruled in favor of the owner.

Facts: After a tenant signed a lease for space it used as a convenience store, the property was sold and the lease was assigned to a new owner.

Facts: An employee was injured while working at a warehouse leased by his employer. The floor of the warehouse collapsed while the employee was stacking steel in a bay. The basement under the bay was rented to another tenant. The employee and the steel fell into the basement. The employee suffered significant injuries; a co-worker died as a result of the accident. The employee sued the owner. The owner asked the trial court for a decision in its favor without a trial. The trial court ruled in favor of the owner. The employee appealed.

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. He sued the owner for his personal injuries, claiming that the owner was responsible for maintaining the staircase in a safe condition. The owner asked a trial court for a judgment in its favor without a trial.