Landlord's Profits Following Repossession Do Not Reduce Tenant's Liability For Breach
Lu v. Grewal
(05 C.D.O.S. 5740, June 28, 2005)
By Mary Hedley
A tenant who abandons a commercial leasehold cannot escape all liability for its breach by taking advantage of the landlord's work in restoring the space and making it profitable. In Lu v. Grewal the tenant abandoned a gas station with almost 3 years left on its lease. When the landlords re took the premises, they found that the gas pumps had been torn out of the ground, gasoline was pooling in holes in the ground, computer controls had been ripped off the walls, the premises were vandalized, and the convenience-store items were missing or broken. The landlords worked around the clock to repair the property and operate the business themselves. They sued the tenant for breach of the lease, including damages for removing fixtures and a claim for the rent that was due following abandonment.
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