Commercial Lease Requirements During the Pandemic
May 01, 2020
Can a commercial tenant that is required to be closed during the COVID-19 pandemic be relieved of, or does it have a defense to, the obligation to continue to pay rent? The short answer is possibly yes, but the situation is unprecedented and the answer may have to be determined in litigation.
Bankruptcy Asset Sales During COVID-19 Crisis
May 01, 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic is already leaving its mark on the bankruptcy asset sale landscape. Despite the uncertainty — or even because of it — bankruptcy should still be viewed as a useful tool to effectuate the acquisition of assets. The current situation and anticipated distress across many industries presents opportunities for purchasers to acquire assets on favorable terms.
COVID-19: A Massive Impediment to Bankruptcy Relief
May 01, 2020
With Uncertainty As to When the Pandemic Will Ease, Bankruptcy Courts Do Not Seem to Be a Panacea Leading to Successful Reorganizations or Orderly Liquidations for Troubled Companies
The impact of COVID-19 on efforts of businesses to reorganize or even orderly liquidate in bankruptcy has been swift and devastating
COVID-19: Should Landlords Apply Security Deposits to Unpaid Rents?
May 01, 2020
There are currently several bills in various stages of being passed into law in several states as of early April, which would restrict, on a temporary basis, the eviction of commercial tenants from their leased premises for failure to pay rent, Whether these bills get signed into law and survive judicial scrutiny remains to be seen. The question then is whether a landlord may enforce the security deposit section of its lease and take the deposit should the tenant miss a rent payment.
Personal Guaranty of Commercial Lease Held Discharged in Guarantor's Bankruptcy
May 01, 2020
As we prepare for the anticipated increase in bankruptcy filings caused by the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on the economy, many practitioners are trying to compare this to the savings and loan crisis of the late 1980s. One of the issues that keeps coming up cycle after cycle is whether a personal guaranty of a commercial lease is discharged in the bankruptcy of the individual guarantor. Court decisions have split on this issue for years.
Landlord & Tenant Law
April 01, 2020
Loft Board Lacks Authority to Supervise Legalization Once Tenants Withdraw Application
Tenant Entitled to Relief from Failure to Timely Exercise Renewal Option
What a Difference 3 Months Can Make
April 01, 2020
The coronavirus has brokers guessing as to how this will affect leasing in the short term, and a report says leasing activity is likely to have a degree of decline in transaction volumes compared to pre-crisis expectations
Force Majeure and the Doctrine of Impossibility
April 01, 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic is resulting in landlords and tenants closely reviewing a clause in their lease that was long considered unimportant boilerplate. Yes, we are referring to the "force majeure" provision.
