The Summary: In today’s financial climate, it is hard to keep up with the changes happening in shopping centers across the country. Retail space in shopping centers is staying vacant for several months or longer. Landlords are converting retail space to non-retail use or closing entire wings or floors of shopping centers. Landlords are even

Case: California National Bank v. Woodbridge Plaza LLC, Case No. 05CC03999 (Cal. Ct. App. 6/20/08)

The One Sentence Summary: California Court of Appeal held that a bank’s retail lease providing for an extended lease term at the lesser of the then prevailing rental rate or the latest square foot rental rate of a competing bank

The One Sentence Summary: While some view a tenant’s obligation to pay taxes as a pass-through from the landlord, this characterization is often inaccurate. Landlords frequently collect more in taxes than they in fact pay, and sometimes they collect less. Courts and juries in deciding what amount of taxes the landlord is entitled to charge

Case: Stone v. Center Trust Retail Properties, Inc., Case No. B181180 (Cal. Ct. App. 5/30/08)

The One Sentence Summary: The California Court of Appeal held that a shopping center landlord has a duty to inspect a tenant’s premises upon the entry of a judgment of possession in an unlawful detainer action, creating potential liability

Case: McClain v. Octagon Plaza, LLC, Case No. B194037 (Cal. Ct. App. 1/31/08)

The One Sentence Summary: Where retail lease requires tenant to pay its share of common area expenses based on landlord’s statement of the expenses, tenant is entitled to review landlord’s supporting documentation to verify that the stated expenses were incurred and

Case: Fashion Valley Mall, LLC v. National Labor Relations Board, Case No. S144753 (Cal. Sup. Ct. 12/24/07)

The One Sentence Summary: Although shopping centers may enforce reasonable time, place, and manner rules to ensure that free speech activities do not interfere with normal business operations, they may not enforce content-based restrictions such as prohibiting speech

Case: Van v. Home Depot, U.S.A., Inc., Case No. B190831 (Cal. Ct. App. 10/5/07)

The One Sentence Summary: The California Constitution does not protect expressive activity in the area immediately surrounding the entrance of an individual retail store that does not itself possess the characteristics of a public form, even when the store is

The One Sentence Summary: In successful claim after successful claim, it is the lease language that is most important.

Full Posting:

Every year there are thousands of disputes in which retail tenants claim they are overcharged by owners and operators of shopping centers for CAM expenses, utilities, taxes, marketing fund payments and other charges. The

Case: Hernandez v. City of Hanford, No. S143287 (Cal. Sup. Ct. 6/7/07)

The One Sentence Summary: California Supreme Court held that City of Hanford’s zoning ordinance restricting the sale of furniture in shopping mall district in order to protect retail furniture stores deemed vital to economic viability of city’s downtown commercial district was not

Case: Goldstein v. Pataki, 488 F. Supp. 2d 254 (E.D.N.Y. 6/6/07)

The One Sentence Summary: District court in Brooklyn rejected property owners’ claim that condemnation of property for mixed-use development project consisting of sports arena for New Jersey Nets basketball franchise, housing units, offices, retail space, and a hotel violated public use requirement of