Owner Loses

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 What Happened: A landlord sued a retail tenant for, among other things, not paying CAM charges. The tenant acknowledged its failure to pay but claimed it wasn’t liable because the landlord didn’t provide the certification required by the following lease language:

What Happened: A car dealership property was vandalized after the tenant took possession but before it opened. The tenant couldn’t use the space for three-and-a-half months but continued to pay the rent. After repairs were done, the tenant asked for a rent abatement under the following lease clause:

What Happened: In seeking to exercise its five-year lease renewal option, retail tenant Intermix did just about everything right. The notice was timely; it was in proper written form; and it clearly stated Intermix’s intent to renew. But the officer who executed the option on Intermix’s behalf made one mistake: Instead of Intermix, he listed its sister company Old Navy in the signature box. So, the landlord concluded that the notice was deficient and sued Intermix for failing to vacate after the original lease expired.

 What Happened:  A shopping center lease contained a co-tenancy clause giving a tenant a reduced rent if occupancy by major retail tenants fell below 70 percent. The bankruptcy of a grocery store tenant occupying 63,000 square feet triggered the clause. But when the tenant notified the owner of its intent to pay the reduced rent, the owner asked a court to proclaim that the co-tenancy clause was unenforceable.

What Happened: After 30 years of running a Dunkin’ Donuts out of the space, a tenant decided not to renew the lease. The tenant left the space broom-clean and removed all the counters, shelving, display cases, and doughnut shop-related furniture. The owner claimed the premises weren’t “rentable,” made long-term renovations, and withheld the $10,000 security deposit to pay for it. The tenant sued.

What Happened: After bringing a successful anticipatory breach claim against it, a medical tenant sued the landlord for its legal fees citing the following lease provision:

What Happened: After years of fruitless negotiations, Wal-Mart decided to pull out of discussions for a long-term ground lease but didn’t notify the would-be landlord until months later. Having invested so much time and money in trying to secure the ground lease, the landlord went bankrupt. As a result, the property went on the market and Wal-Mart bought it. The landlord sued Wal-Mart for breach of good faith, breach of contract, and promissory estoppel. The federal court rejected all three claims.  

What Happened: A tenant wanting to open a new restaurant in Dallas expressed concern about the lack of nearby offsite parking but signed the lease anyway. The landlord set out to find more parking but was unsuccessful. As a result, the tenant decided it couldn’t go through with its restaurant plans and stopped paying rent. The landlord sued, but the tenant claimed that the unavailability of parking was a so-called “force majeure” event relieving it of its duty to pay rent under the lease.

What Happened: A landlord sent an email to a restaurant tenant with the following message:

Reminder of increase and renewal

I just wanted to remind you that your first five-year lease agreement comes to an end on November 30, 2015. Please confirm that you want to continue with the lease. There is an increase of 3% each year starting in December, 2015 [sic] and the rent will be $4326 a month.

What Happened: Tenants leased space in a Long Beach, Calif., shopping mall for use as a live music and entertainment venue. But when they opened their doors, they got lambasted with noise complaints from other tenants. Turn down the volume or change your business, the landlord demanded. The tenants were caught off guard, especially because the landlord had told them that there had been no noise complaints against the previous music club tenant.