Q: Two tenants at the shopping center I own are currently in a dispute about who has the right to sell a certain product. A toy store tenant signed a lease with an exclusive use clause that gives it the right to be the only tenant in the center that sells toys. A variety store signed a lease that allows it to sell various items for entertainment. It was made aware at the time of the lease signing that the toy store had an exclusive right to sell toys, and it signed the lease nonetheless.

What are a landlord’s liability to tenants when it reopens part of the property after a disaster but still has to keep parts of the common areas closed for a while to fix the damage? That timely question is at the center of a recent case.

Q: If a major disaster that’s totally unforeseen and beyond anybody’s control, like a hurricane or perhaps the worldwide outbreak of a virulent virus, interferes with a tenant’s ability to use leased property for its intended business purpose, does the tenant still have to pay rent?