Owner Loses

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Facts: A tenant that operated a tanning salon in a single, one-story building sent a written complaint about the leaky ceiling to the owner, which didn't fully repair the problem. The tenant's employee was hit by plaster that fell from the ceiling into her eye, causing her to fall and injure her shoulder. The tenant sued the owner.

Facts: The owner of two vacant warehouses, one of which had some interior office space, leased the buildings to a construction supply company that planned to convert the warehouses into a retail store. After demolishing the office space, the tenant halted renovations for economic reasons, and the property became rundown.

Facts: A career center tenant signed a lease with the owner of an office building to rent space in four office suites for an initial term of 124 months. The building was sold, and the tenant and new owner extended the lease. The owner later claimed that the tenant had defaulted on its lease, and it sued the tenant to recover the space. The tenant claimed that the owner could not evict it from the four suites, because it hadn't delivered two notices properly according to the lease terms. The owner asked the court for a judgment in its favor without a trial.

Facts: A tenant leased office space for its law firm. The lease term was four years and provided for two five-year extensions. After the final extension of the lease term expired, the tenant continued to occupy the space on a month-to-month basis, paying rent as specified in the holdover section of the expired lease. The owner later sued to evict the tenant, terminating the month-to-month tenancy. It claimed that the tenant failed to pay rent equal to the “use and occupancy” of the space, which it asserted was significantly higher than the month-to-month rent.

Facts: The lease between a shopping center owner and a restaurant tenant provided: “All notices, consents, approvals, or demands required under this Lease shall be in writing, and shall be deemed delivered when either: (1) deposited in the United States mail, certified or registered, postage prepaid; (2) transmitted by telegraphic or electronic means, with proof of service provided; or (3) delivered in person at the business address specified in this Section of the Lease or [emphasis added] to such other address as either party may from time to time designate for this pu

Facts: A visitor to an art gallery that consisted of the storage mezzanine (loft) and first floor of a seven-story mixed-use building fell from the loft, which had been used as a bedroom by the tenant for 11 years. There was a knee-high wall around the perimeter of the loft, which overlooked the first floor where artwork had been set up. The tenant installed shutters on top of the wall for privacy when he had converted the loft from a storage area to a bedroom.

Facts: A fast-food restaurant had an exclusive right to sell “sandwiches and subs” in a shopping center that consisted of three buildings (Building A, Building B, and Building C). The fast-food restaurant tenant was located in Building A.

Facts: An office building tenant moved out of its space, but continued to fulfill its lease obligations until the property manager notified it that several previous subcontractors hired by the owner were occupying the space. The subcontractors, all of whom were unauthorized to be on the property, had converted a maintenance closet into a working shower and some office space into bedrooms. The property manager had the subcontractors and their belongings removed from the tenant's space.

Facts: A lifestyle center comprised of condominiums, retail stores, and restaurants was to be constructed in three phases. A bookstore tenant signed a lease with the lifestyle center's owner for retail space in a building that was not yet completed. Under the lease, the tenant was required to accept the space on the condition that a movie theater, four full-service restaurants, one of which had to be located on “Pad 37” of the property, and at least 50,000 square feet of specialty retailers were open and operating at the time it moved in.

Facts: A sporting goods store tenant at a shopping mall hired a contractor to hang its sign and provided a ladder for him to use while working. The contractor claimed that he had warned the tenant and mall manager that the feet on the ladder were worn out, but was told to “just continue working with it.” The contractor fell off the ladder while hanging the sign, suffering severe injuries.