Owner Loses

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Facts: A fast-food restaurant signed a five-year lease with the owner of a building that had been used previously for a similar restaurant. Under the lease, the owner represented and warranted to the tenant that there were no existing restrictions, building and zoning ordinances, or other laws or requirements of any governmental authority that would prevent the use of the premises for the tenant’s purposes. The lease also provided that any misrepr...

Facts: For 30 years, a fitness center leased space in a shopping center under a series of leases. After a fire damaged the center, the center’s owner made some repairs and asked the tenant to resume its operations in the space. The tenant, however, claimed that the repairs were incomplete; that they had not been performed within the period required by the lease; and that the center was in violation of applicable fire and safety regulations.

Facts: A shopping center tenant signed a 10-year lease with a five-year extension option. Under the lease, the tenant had the right to renegotiate the terms of the extension period, including the rental rate. At the time that the tenant signed the lease, the center included several large tenants, including a national clothing department store.

Facts: A retail tenant’s shopping center lease included a “kickout” provision, allowing it to terminate the lease if its annual gross sales during the fifth year of the lease term didn’t exceed $3.5 million. To terminate the lease, the tenant was required to give the owner a written notice of termination within 120 days following the end of the fifth year of the term. If the tenant failed to deliver the notice according ...

Facts: The owner of a building used as a supermarket terminated its tenant's lease and ordered it to move out of the space because the tenant had allegedly “incurably” defaulted on the lease—that is, violated the lease in a way that couldn't be fixed—by failing to maintain adequate insurance and altering the space without the owner's permission.

Facts: An office building tenant asked the owner to pay the property taxes that it claimed the owner was responsible for under its lease terms. The tenant withheld its rent while the owner refused to pay the property taxes. The owner informed the tenant that by withholding its rent payments, it was in default of the lease. But because the owner still hadn't paid the taxes, the tenant exercised its right to terminate the lease and moved out of the space.

Facts: An office building owner rented space to a bank under a five-year lease with two five-year extension options. Under the lease, if the tenant exercised its options to extend, the owner and tenant were to attempt to agree on the renewal rent. If they were unable to agree, the lease provided that the rent would be determined by appraisals conducted by two appraisers selected by the owner and tenant.

Facts: A supermarket tenant closed its store before the end of its 20-year lease for shopping center space. The center's owner sued the tenant, asking the court for: an injunction (that is, an order to a party to do or refrain from doing something) to force the tenant to continue operating; a declaration that the tenant was required to keep its store open and fully staffed; and money damages. A federal court denied the owner's requests. The tenant closed,...

Facts: A resident of a mixed-use retail and condominium building complained that the employees of a restaurant that rented space on the ground floor of the building played excessively loud music. The resident sued the owner of the building for “private nuisance,” claiming that the owner was responsible for the tenant's behavior. The owner asked a New York court for a judgment in its favor without a trial.

Facts: A building owner leased space to a restaurant tenant for a five-year term. During the course of renegotiating the lease at the end of the term, the tenant gave the owner a personal written guaranty. The lease provided for accelerated rent if the tenant breached the lease. The restaurant closed, and the tenant left the premises with three-and-a-half years remaining on the lease. The owner posted a sign at the building, noting that the property was available...