Landlord Tenant Law

In ultimately rejecting the plaintiff's claim that the apartment buyers could be responsible for the condominium developer's breach of a contract recorded as part of the condominium's declaration, the court illustrated some important points about how contracts can run with the land, or otherwise impose liability on real estate buyers.

The court reasoned that the landlord's affidavit, together with the exhibits established prima facie proof that the tenant had been illegally using the premises and had acquiesced thereto.

A recent Pennsylvania Superior Court opinion held that a commercial tenant was evicted from the leased premises rather than abandoning it and that, accordingly, the landlord could only recover damages for unpaid rent through the date when the landlord recovered possession of the leased premises, denying the landlord's claim for additional rent for the remainder of the lease term.

Attorneys advising commercial tenants on commercial lease documents should not sleep on prohibitions or other limitations on their client's rights to assign or transfer their interests in the leasehold estate. Assignment and transfer provisions are just as important as the base rent or any default clauses, especially in the era where tenants are searching for increased flexibility to maneuver in the hybrid working environment where the future of in-person use of real estate remains unclear.

Latham & Watkins helped the largest U.S. commercial real estate research company prevail in a breach-of-contract dispute in District of Columbia federal court.

The LJN Quarterly Update highlights some of the articles from the nine LJN Newsletters titles over the quarter. Articles include in-depth analysis and insights from lawyers and other practice area experts.

Defining commercial real estate asset class is essentially a property explaining how it identifies — not necessarily what its original intention was or what others think it ought to be. This article discusses, from a general issue-spot and contextual analysis perspective, how lawyers ought to think about specialized leasing formats and the regulatory backdrops that may inform what the documentation needs to contain for compliance purposes.

The ruling from New York's highest state court, although straightforward on its face, has important implications for both long-existing settlement agreements and when considering drafting future agreements settling disputes in the context of the Rent Stabilization Law.