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Maryland Appellate Court: COVID-19 Restrictions Not Excuse for Tenants' Failure to Pay Rent
Looking primarily to states like Connecticut for guidance, the Appellate Court of Maryland concluded that economic challenges stemming from COVID-19 executive orders themselves are not sufficient to establish the affirmative defenses of frustration of purpose and legal impossibility for failure to pay rent.
David and Carolyn Marquis leased an Annapolis, MD, property for a restaurant/pub known as the Chesapeake Brewing Co. The couple operated the business without substantial difficulties until the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic and when Gov. Larry Hogan issued an executive order in March 2020 limiting bars and restaurants to carryout orders.
The Marquises asked their commercial property landlord, John Critzos II, to abate the April rent due to their inability to operate the restaurant/pub as usual. The landlord and tenants never reached an agreement and the Marquises never paid rent, but rather they informed Critzos on April 23, 2020, that they wished to terminate the lease, according to the appellate court's opinion filed in January. John Critzos, II v. David Marquis, et al., Md. App. Ct. No. 293, Sept. Term 2022. Opinion filed on Jan. 3, 2023, by Berger, J.
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Major Differences In UK, U.S. Copyright Laws
This article highlights how copyright law in the United Kingdom differs from U.S. copyright law, and points out differences that may be crucial to entertainment and media businesses familiar with U.S law that are interested in operating in the United Kingdom or under UK law. The article also briefly addresses contrasts in UK and U.S. trademark law.
The Article 8 Opt In
The Article 8 opt-in election adds an additional layer of complexity to the already labyrinthine rules governing perfection of security interests under the UCC. A lender that is unaware of the nuances created by the opt in (may find its security interest vulnerable to being primed by another party that has taken steps to perfect in a superior manner under the circumstances.
Strategy vs. Tactics: Two Sides of a Difficult Coin
With each successive large-scale cyber attack, it is slowly becoming clear that ransomware attacks are targeting the critical infrastructure of the most powerful country on the planet. Understanding the strategy, and tactics of our opponents, as well as the strategy and the tactics we implement as a response are vital to victory.
Legal Possession: What Does It Mean?
Possession of real property is a matter of physical fact. Having the right or legal entitlement to possession is not "possession," possession is "the fact of having or holding property in one's power." That power means having physical dominion and control over the property.
The Stranger to the Deed Rule
In 1987, a unanimous Court of Appeals reaffirmed the vitality of the "stranger to the deed" rule, which holds that if a grantor executes a deed to a grantee purporting to create an easement in a third party, the easement is invalid. Daniello v. Wagner, decided by the Second Department on November 29th, makes it clear that not all grantors (or their lawyers) have received the Court of Appeals' message, suggesting that the rule needs re-examination.