In the Spotlight: Beware of Operating Expenses Incurred Subsequent to the Lease Term
August 18, 2003
Most leases that provide for a pass-through of operating expenses to tenants provide for an equitable proration of such expenses for any partial lease year. The typical language provides that the tenant is liable for its proportionate share of operating expenses incurred by the landlord for any period during the lease term. The arithmetic is very simple — if the lease expires on March 31st, the tenant is responsible for its share of expenses incurred by the landlord through March 31st.
How Commercial Landlords Can Position Themselves to Deal With Current Marketplace Conditions
August 18, 2003
The uncertainty of the duration of the downturn in the commercial leasing market, the vast amount of available first-and-second generation space and the increasing number of tenant bankruptcies have resulted in a situation where landlords must position themselves to endure potentially devastating economic times. Cutting rental rates and providing previously unheard of tenant concessions such as short-term leases and long periods of 'free rent' may seem like the only alternatives, but they are not. Landlords can enforce existing provisions in their leases and incorporate additional provisions into their lease forms that will improve their position in the marketplace.
In the Courts
August 18, 2003
Analysis of cases of importance to your practice.
Creating Private-Sector Standards of Conduct
August 18, 2003
Whether certain conduct is a crime depends on more than legislatures, judges, and juries. When prosecutors decide whether, whom, and what to charge, the policies underlying their decisions create operative standards of conduct. So, too, do those of agencies administering regulatory programs backed by criminal sanctions. But what about the private sector? Sensible standards of conduct articulated by trade associations can and should play a substantial role in drawing the line between acceptable business practices and bad conduct that can be subject to criminal sanctions.
In the Courts
August 18, 2003
Analysis of rulings of importance to your practice.
Indemnification Revisited
August 18, 2003
A recent <i>Wall Street Journal</i> story asked, 'How much does it cost to defend a company and its executives when they are under investigation for accounting fraud?' In the case of Qwest Communications International, Inc., the Denver-based telephone company currently under parallel SEC and Department of Justice investigations, the answer is staggering.
The Perils of Confidentiality Agreements
August 18, 2003
The tidal wave of corporate scandals reminds us that the most popular and perhaps viable response for the corporation under siege remains cooperation with government investigators. Reports of disclosure of internal company investigations and documents have come pouring out of Enron, WorldCom, Global Crossing and many others. When corporations divulge potentially privileged materials to the government, concerns about whether such disclosure results in the waiver of the company's attorney-client privilege and the loss of its work product protection inevitably follow.
