Owner Loses

RSS

Facts: An owner operating as a limited liability company (LLC) signed a 10-year lease with a tenant while the building was still under construction. When the building was almost completed, the owner backed out of the deal, claiming that the lease was not valid, because there were no witnesses at the signing, as required by law. The tenant sued the owner, claiming that the lease should be honored because the law allows corporations to sign leases for more than one year without witnesses. The court ruled for the owner, and the tenant appealed.

Facts: A tenant and an owner discussed the value and potential of a business for sale, and then entered into a lease agreement that allowed the tenant to lease the property, the business, and all of its contents for a specified amount with an option to purchase. The document signed by both parties contained an “as is” clause.

Facts: A tenant entered into a lease with an owner, but at the lease signing, an individual whose capacity was undetermined signed the lease on the owner's behalf. After a dispute over on-site equipment, the tenant vacated the premises before the end of its lease.

Facts: An owner and a tenant entered into a lease agreement that gave the tenant exclusive access to the reception area, a lunchroom, a conference room, and reserved parking spaces. The property was eventually transferred to a new owner that refused to grant access to the areas that were previously agreed upon in the tenant's lease.

Facts: An owner and a tenant entered into a seven-year lease. The tenant made renovations to the space that fit the specific needs of its business. Shortly after, a new owner purchased the building and began renovations, some of which were on the tenant's floor—though not in the tenant's space—and made plans to close down the elevators at the end of the tenant's lease.

Facts: An owner and tenant entered into a lease that called for the tenant to pay for any modifications to the sprinkler system stemming from any changes the tenant made to the space. The lease made the owner responsible for installing a burglar alarm and fire alarm system.

Facts: An owner and tenant entered into a 20-year lease that included four lease extension options, each for five years. The owner assigned his interest in the lease to a new owner—that is, gave the new owner all of its rights in the lease. The tenant assigned the 20-year base lease to a new tenant, and assigned the lease options to a third party. Several years later, the third party assigned the lease options to the new tenant.

Facts: A tenant restaurant defaulted on its lease by operating an after-hours dance club and by failing to pay its rent. The owner sued to evict the restaurant and won, but a week and a half after the eviction judgment was made, the restaurant was still operating, and a customer slipped and fell on the restaurant's dance floor due to a ceiling leak. The customer sued the restaurant and the owner for her injuries. The jury awarded the customer $385,440 in damages, and the owner appealed the award.

Facts: An owner and tenant signed a commercial lease that required the tenant to obtain commercial general liability insurance (CGL) for their “mutual benefit.” The blanket additional insured endorsement in the CGL policy that the tenant purchased stated that the definition of “an insured” includes “any person that a written contract required the tenant to name as an additional insured.”

Facts: A Nevada tenant rented retail space from the owner. The tenant defaulted on the lease and never opened the store that it had planned to operate. The owner sued the tenant for the lease violation and asked that the trial court award it more than $2.4 million in damages. The trial court ruled for the tenant because the owner could not prove it suffered damages in that amount. The owner appealed.

Decision: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld the trial court's decision.