Don't Block Tenant's Access to Travel Routes

A Pennsylvania case should serve as a reminder that owners can't deny tenants' access to their space if restrictions aren't provided for in the lease. There, a restaurant tenant signed a lease for space in a food court area of an office building. The tenant sued the building's owner for fraud and breach of contract, alleging that its food and supply delivery people were being refused access to the entrance of the building and the elevators, in violation of its lease, which provided that the tenant would have access to the entire building.

The tenant asked a Pennsylvania trial court for a judgment in its favor without a trial. The owner asked the trial court to dismiss the case. The trial court granted judgment in the tenant's favor on its first claim and dismissed its second claim.

The trial court determined that it's clear from the “explicit and unambiguous” language of the lease that the owner leased to the tenant—in addition to the premises—the “right of nonexclusive use of elevators, stairways, loading docks, food market seating area, concourses, lobbies, and corridors as they may exist from time to time in the building for common use and access to the premises.”

The trial court pointed out that the “Public Areas” provisions in the lease gives the tenant and “its agents, employees and customers, a non-exclusive license to use the Common Areas.” Common areas are defined in the lease as “the portions of the building that are not leasable to tenants and are intended for the common use and benefit of the building's tenants and users of the building.” Based on those lease provisions, the trial court determined that the tenant had a valid claim for breach of contract for denial of access to elevators [CC Pizza LLC v. Liberty/Commerz 1701 JFK Boulevard, L.P., August 2011].