A Massachusetts court recently decided a case involving a commercial lease agreement dispute, which determined that a landlord’s alleged breach does not justify the tenant’s decision to stop paying rent. In this case, the landlord sued its tenant arguing the tenant had no right to terminate its lease or withhold rent. The court agreed with […]
Blog
By Annabelle Hentz, Law Clerk The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts recently upheld a Superior Court’s ruling that rent acceleration clauses are enforceable by commercial landlords against defaulting commercial tenants. Rent acceleration clauses allow for unpaid rent to constitute liquidated damages when a tenant defaults—regardless of the amount of unpaid lapsed time. Case Background Recently, […]
Jon Friedmann recently represented Robert DeVoe as both trustee of R&M Realty Trust and individually in a case tried in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Massachusetts (Lassman v. DeVoe, No. 18-01192, 2022). The case involved a commercial lease between Nouhad B. Bechara and Mona M. Bechara (“the debtors”) and R&M Realty […]
Given the effects of Covid-19, the commercial real estate market has been interesting for commercial landlords and tenants alike. Landlords and tenants are both trying to evaluate the immediate and long-term future of their leased premises. Many landlords and tenants are taking advantage of the current market in an effort to better their long-term positions […]
by George Georgountzos A lease functions as the basis of the contractual agreement between the landlord and tenant, outlining the parties’ obligations to each other. When disputes arise, parties, counsel and courts look to the lease as the starting point in determining what the parties agreed to and whether there has been a breach. Peculiar […]
