Landlord & Tenant Law

In landlord's action for breach of a lease and other contracts, tenant appealed from Supreme Court's calculation of damages for breach of the lease. The Appellate Division modified, holding that tenant's liability terminated when landlord terminated the related contracts.

As part of an agreement for transfer of an ambulatory surgical center, landlord, an affiliate of the transferor of the surgical center, leased a townhouse to tenant, the transferee, for a 10-year term. The lease provided that if the other agreements should terminate for any reason, the lease would terminate simultaneously with those other agreements. The lease also authorized landlord to relet the premises for tenant's account. When tenant breached the various agreements, landlord relet the premises to transferor on Dec. 15, 2015. Then, on Jan. 6, 2016, landlord served tenant with a notice of termination. In this action, the transferor sought damages for breach of the transfer agreement, and landlord sought damages for breach of the lease. Supreme Court held that transferor was entitled to recover liquidated damages under the terms of the transfer agreement, and held that landlord was entitled to recover rent until the date landlord sold the building, Oct. 11, 2017. Tenant appealed.