SDNY Chooses “Time Approach” to Calculating Lease Termination Damages Collectible Against a Bankrupt Estate
Introduction - Despite the parties’ best intentions at the beginning of a commercial lease, landlords will inevitably encounter tenants in financial distress. Ultimately, some tenants will seek protection in bankruptcy,...more
In In re Pearl Resources LLC, a Houston bankruptcy court rejected the Texas General Land Office’s attempt to partially terminate state oil and gas leases in Pecos County, despite finding the operator had breached offset well...more
Financial distress persists in the commercial real estate market, raising the prospects that property owners and landlords could seek relief under chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code. The Bankruptcy Code contains numerous...more
When a tenant under an unexpired lease of nonresidential real property files a case under chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code, both tenant and landlord acquire rights and obligations that may contravene the terms of the lease...more
To prevent landlords under long-term real property leases from reaping a windfall for future rent claims at the expense of other creditors, the Bankruptcy Code caps the amount of a landlord's claim against a debtor-tenant for...more
In these troubled times when lease and other contract defaults, as well as bankruptcies, abound, it may be useful to reexamine what happens to a lease of commercial real estate when it has been terminated in accordance with...more
The Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Michigan recently held, in In re Indiana Hotel Equities, LLC, No. 18-45185 (Bankr. E.D. Mich. June 18, 2018) [ECF No. 47], that the early termination of a lease on...more
On December 29, 2016, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (the “Court”) issued an opinion, holding that the statutory cap on a landlord’s damages claim in a bankruptcy case applies only to claims resulting...more
In March 2016, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled that a landlord may be liable to a debtor’s bankruptcy estate for the value of a lease the debtor terminated early, holding the termination may be an...more
Landlords contemplating terminating a lease with a distressed tenant in advance of a possible tenant bankruptcy will want to consider carefully a recent decision from the Seventh Circuit. The decision, In re Great Lakes Quick...more
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently handed down a decision with significant implications for landlords contemplating lease termination agreements with distressed tenants. Ruling on a direct appeal in the chapter 11...more
Agri Star Meat & Poultry, LLC v. Nevel Properties Corp. (In re Nevel Properties Corp.), 765 F.3d 846 (8th Cir. 2014) – The purchaser of assets from one bankruptcy debtor objected to the plan of reorganization filed by...more