Medical Center Exhibited Clear Intent to Abandon Leased Premises

What Happened: Two years into a five-year lease, a medical center stopped paying rent and abandoned the property. At least that’s what it looked like to the property manager who found the place empty and stripped of all furnishings. The sign on the door indicating that the tenant had closed its business reenforced the manager’s impression that the place was abandoned. But when the landlord sued for unpaid and accelerated rent, the tenant denied abandoning the property. We were forced out when the landlord reclaimed the premises, it argued.

Ruling: The Louisiana court upheld summary judgment—that is, judgment without need for a trial—in the landlord’s favor.

Reasoning: Landlords can’t treat property as abandoned unless the tenant exhibits a clear intent to abandon. According to the court, the tenant’s actions in this case met “all indicia of abandonment”:

• The tenant’s furniture, equipment, and furnishings were removed;
• Its office keys were left on the counter; and
• A sign was placed on the door referring to the closing of its business.

We were nonoperational at the time and left the place that way due to the lack of doctors who could prescribe medications, the tenant insisted. But the court brushed the argument aside, noting that why a property is abandoned is irrelevant to whether a tenant exhibits an intent to abandon.

• 745 Olive St., L.L.C. v. Optimal Wellness, LLC, 2022 La. App. LEXIS 1990, 54,778 (La. App.2 Cir. 11/16/22)