The Law Archive Index

A Taxing Situation (7/11/2008)
The property-tax refund that the owners of a Florida shopping center are receiving won’t be as large as they think they are due.

Business Contract, Personal Liability (7/3/2008)
The owner of a business that leased space at an Ohio shopping center must take personal responsibility for payment of back rent that the business owes. That’s because when the business owner signed the tenant lease, she also signed a guarantee that she would pay the rent if her business could not.

The Hole Truth (6/27/2008)
Inability to recount essential details of a trip-and-fall accident at a shopping center entranceway has doomed an Ohio woman’s lawsuit against the center’s owner.

Reneging, Repercussions (6/13/2008)
The administrator of a 12-acre retail site in upstate New York remains financially unscarred after reneging on the sale of the property and battling the repercussions.

Limited Interest (6/5/2008)
Investors in a Wisconsin shopping-center project have prevented any interference in the controversial settlement that results from the sale of the property.

Mistaken Assumption (5/30/2008)
Blame “laxity” for the big problems encountered by the purchasers of a specialty-coffee business at a Minnesota shopping center.

Rent-Reduction Rights and Wrongs (5/12/2008)
An eight-year-long dispute over rent that a tenant owes a Minnesota shopping center owner finally has an end in sight.

Suit Thwarted by Ownership Maze (5/9/2008)
A woman injured at a Virginia shopping center may have blown her chances for compensation through her choice of lawsuit targets.

No Parking (5/4/2008)
Plans for construction of a new shopping center in Murrieta, CA, have hit a snag over failure of the developer to assure adequate parking for shoppers.

Contractor Loses Blame Game (4/25/2008)
Blame for a trip-and-fall injury at a New York shopping center has shifted from one custodian contractor to another, while leaving the center’s owner so far blameless.

Get it In Writing (4/17/2008)
A breach of lease has cost a tenant of an Ohio shopping center far more than he expected to pay.

The Seventy-Five Percent Solution (4/13/2008)
A woman who was injured at a Louisiana shopping center will have to settle for the amount of compensation that a jury awarded her--although she tried for much more.

Lease Beats Lawsuit (4/6/2008)
A shrewdly worded tenant lease that anticipates future problems can prove to be a blessing for a shopping center owner.

A Killer Question (3/28/2008)
True or false? A shopping center owner is never financially liable to the victim of a murder that occurs on the premises of a tenant.

Lawsuit a Trivial Pursuit (3/20/2008)
“Trivial” and “speculative” are terms a judge applied to the negligence charges of a woman who was injured while leaving a New York shopping center.

Center Gets an F for Fraud (3/16/2008)
A miscalculation of the square footage that a tenant occupies at a California shopping center has added up to big problems for the center’s owners.

Park ‘N” Shop (‘N’ Pray) (3/9/2008)
A church group has won the right to use a portion of a California shopping center for conducting religious services.

Ironclad Deadline Crushes Tax Plea (3/2/2008)
A challenge to a local government request for tax-related information has not gone well for the owner of a Minnesota shopping center.

Hazard a Guess on Slip-and-Fall (2/22/2008)
A slip-and-fall injury at a Georgia shopping center illustrates the difficulty the courts have in determining liability--if any--for such accidents.

You Snooze You Lose (2/10/2008)
Failure to act promptly has prevented a California shopping center owner from retaining an important access to his property.

Drug(store) Overdose (2/3/2008)
Leasing space to drug store competitors has caused a double dose of financial problems for the owners of an Iowa shopping center.

State Pays For Wreaking Havoc (1/25/2008)
The state of Indiana must pay an Evansville shopping center owner $2.3 million for the harm caused in appropriating and reconfiguring the center’s access roads.

Bounced Check Pays Off (1/20/2008)
A bounced rental check has given the owners of a Texas shopping center an opportunity to get rid of a problem tenant.

The (Food) Lion’s Share (1/14/2008)
Workers’ compensation benefits will go to an employee of a Delaware shopping center tenant for an injury the employee received after leaving work.

When “As-Is” Stinks (1/4/2008)
Accepting a leased space “as is” has caused a lot of headaches for a Texas shopping center tenant experiencing plumbing problems. But that tenant’s ability to show that the plumbing problems were not confined to his leased premises has made all the difference.

Flickering Fixture Fire (12/21/2007)
Did a tenant of a Texas shopping center take proper precautions following warnings of a potential premises fire before it became a reality?

Timing is Everything (12/14/2007)
A perfectly timed relocation of a Sam’s Club operation from one Maryland shopping center to another has helped parent company Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., avoid assessment of a big penalty.

Case Weighs Hearsay (12/7/2007)
A tenant of a Delaware shopping center must prove to the satisfaction of the courts that he asked the center’s owner to repair a faulty step prior to an accident at that spot.

No Safety Net for Negligence (11/30/2007)
Did an insurance policy that protected the builder during construction of a New Jersey shopping center also fully cover the center’s owners?

Sublease Pitfall (11/25/2007)
A tenant of a Chicago-area shopping center will have to pay the huge debt that a sublessee owes to the center’s owner.

Fee Foe Loses Appeal (11/16/2007)
A controversial fee that a Massachusetts shopping center owner imposed on a tenant for “management” services has gained approval after a lengthy legal battle.

An Escalating Need for Evidence (11/11/2007)
An elderly California woman will get a second chance to try to prove that an injury she sustained at a Los Angeles shopping center resulted from the center’s negligence.

Blight Costs MO Money (10/18/2007)
A lengthy delay in condemning a “blighted” shopping center in Gladstone, MO, may end up costing local government much more than the worth of the property. That’s because the shopping center, Gladstone Plaza, continues to deteriorate and simultaneously lose tenants and potential tenants as a result of government inaction. And such a decline in value and income would likely be passed on for the city to pay.

Private Entrance (10/14/2007)
Three major retailers with locations at California shopping centers have won a major skirmish in the legal battle over the barring of unwanted solicitation from their properties.

TIF Tiff (10/5/2007)
A citizens group has failed in its bid to prevent public tax support for a planned commercial complex in downtown South Strabane, PA.

Uneasy Easement (9/30/2007)
An Ohio business owner’s efforts to block public access to the rear of an adjacent shopping center have failed.

Kings Rule: No Protests (9/21/2007)
War protestors in Ulster, NY, are barred from entering a local shopping mall to solicit support for their cause.

Take a Hike (Back) (9/15/2007)
Was a property tax hike levied against a Pennsylvania shopping center based on an illegal local assessment? Pennsylvania’s top court thinks so and has therefore ruled that the local taxing authority in the county where the shopping center is located must reduce the assessment.

Disputing The 5 Percent Solution (9/7/2007)
Efforts to protect a California city’s downtown furniture stores from suburban shopping center and major retail competitors have largely succeeded.

Slip in Time (8/24/2007)
Uncertainty over how much time a slippery substance lay on the floor at an Ohio shopping center has decided the outcome of a lawsuit against the center’s owners.

Getting Into Deptford (8/19/2007)
The embattled developer of a proposed New Jersey shopping has finally won the right to proceed with the project as planned.

Parceled Out (8/10/2007)
A small but valuable parcel of real estate that for many years belonged to the owners of a Georgia shopping center has now become public property.

All’s Well That Ends Well (8/5/2007)
All’s well that ends well. That sums up a rent dispute that occurred between an Ohio shopping center owner and a tenant, but one that ended amicably.

On Omission (7/27/2007)
The seller of a North Dakota shopping center must pay dearly for a rental-income act of omission that the buyer discovered after completion of the sale.

Lease Theatrics (7/22/2007)
A “letter of intent” can go a long way toward resolving any questions about the terms and meaning of a shopping center lease. Consider, for example, how such a letter from a tenant inadvertently aided the owners of a Los Angeles shopping center.

Penney Saved in Slip and Fall (7/15/2007)
All costs incurred by an Ohio shopping center tenant in defending itself from a recent lawsuit must be borne by the center’s owner. That’s because, an Ohio appellate court has ruled, the tenant–J.C. Penney Company–is fully protected in such cases by the language of its lease.

Implied Deal Good As Written (7/8/2007)
A cozy long-term relationship with a Connecticut shopping center has provided a real-estate agent with a disputed final payoff for management services he rendered.

Gate Not Permitted (6/29/2007)
The days may be numbered for an electric gate that a New Jersey shopping center installed to block traffic to and from a neighboring shopping center.

Security Free (6/22/2007)
An omission in a tenant’s lease requirements has proved costly for the owners of a Georgia shopping center.

A Lot of Obvious Danger (6/15/2007)
A pedestrian who was struck by a motor vehicle at a Michigan shopping center has raised the controversial issue of who is liable for such pedestrian injuries: the vehicle driver, the pedestrian–or the shopping center’s owner.

It Matters: JV or Partnership? (6/10/2007)

Absolutely Nonrefundable (Or Not) (6/1/2007)

Open and Obvious Danger (5/18/2007)

Seepage, Smells Irk Tenant (5/12/2007)

Doctored Development (5/6/2007)

Nice Try, But No Dice (4/29/2007)

A Taxing Situation (4/21/2007)

Water: Slippery When Wet (4/15/2007)

Snafu Burns Payless (4/8/2007)

Define “Act” (4/1/2007)

Wal-Mart Foes Grasp at Straws (3/25/2007)

Easement Argument (3/16/2007)