Looking at Lease Provisions from the Litigator's Angle

Frequently, commercial lease issues are brought to the attention of a litigation lawyer only after a dispute between the landlord and the tenant has erupted. Oftentimes, the dispute involves the 'boilerplate' provisions that do not raise much interest during the drafting phase because they are not considered to be economic deal points. <i>See</i> 'Revisiting Boilerplate or 'Miscellaneous' Lease Provisions' in the January 2006 issue of <i>Commercial Leasing Law &amp; Strategy</i>. This lack of interest in boilerplate provisions is a mistake because it is much easier to resolve concerns regarding those provisions ' which become very important in the litigation context ' while the parties are amicably moving toward closing a deal, rather than during the pendency of a lawsuit. Many times, disputes could have been either avoided or minimized had the parties clarified certain important issues while they were negotiating and drafting. This article discusses several leasing issues that should be carefully considered while the parties are still on friendly terms.