Commercial Landlord

Commercial Landlord Dispute – Dismissal for Cause and the Interplay of Sections 349 and 1112

09/30/15

Not uncommonly, the timing of a commercial tenant’s bankruptcy filing will correspond with a landlord seeking to evict the tenant or institute foreclosure proceedings.  What is the effect of a dismissal requested by a commercial debtor after the landlord has successfully prevailed in the underlying bankruptcy case?  The recent decision of Scarborough-St. James Corporation, case no.

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RadioShack Corp. Bankruptcy: How can a landlord protect itself prior to and during bankruptcy?

03/31/15

With the RadioShack Corporation bankruptcy action affecting the rights of many commercial landlords, it is important to determine ways that landlords can protect themselves during the course of the bankruptcy action.

First, requiring a third-party guarantor is one way in which a landlord may obtain better creditor protection when entering into a lease. The automatic stay does not prevent a landlord from taking action against a guarantor to a corporate debtor-tenants’ lease, provided the lease guarantor is not in bankruptcy.

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Can the landlord apply the tenant’s security deposit to the landlord’s claims?

03/23/15

Security deposits are considered property of the bankruptcy estate, and as such, are generally required to be returned to the debtor.  Even so,  landlords are permitted in certain instances to setoff their rejection damage claim against the security deposit.  This benefits a landlord for two reasons.  First, instead of returning the deposit to the debtor-tenant, a landlord can setoff its claim against the deposit, and thus reduce the amount of the deposit that must be returned.  Second,  the landlord’s rejection damage claim is a general unsecured claim, meaning it gets paid after all other

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When can a landlord recover attorneys’ fees from a tenant in bankruptcy?

03/16/15

Landlords may be able to recover attorneys’ fees incurred when a debtor-tenant seeks to assume the lease, or assume and assign the lease to a third party.  To recover attorney’s fees, however, the landlord must meet several criteria.  First, the lease must expressly state that the landlord is entitled to recover attorneys’ fees as additional rent or in connection with the collection of rent.

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How does a landlord recover its administrative rent claim?

03/09/15

Section 365(d)(3) of the Bankruptcy Code requires the debtor-tenant to “timely perform all the obligations …. under any unexpired lease of nonresidential real property” until such time that the tenant assumes or rejects the lease.  If a tenant files for bankruptcy and remains in possession of the property, yet fails to pay rent as provided for under the lease, the landlord should consider filing a motion for an administrative claim.

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What are the landlord’s rights when the tenant assumes and assigns the lease to a third-party?

03/03/15

In conjunction with assuming the lease,  the Bankruptcy Code allows the debtor-tenant to assign the lease to a third party.  The party who is assigned the lease must provide the landlord with adequate assurance that it can meet the financial obligations of the lease.  If the party who is assuming the lease cannot provide the landlord with adequate assurance,  the landlord has cause to object to the assignment.

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What are the landlord’s rights when the debtor-tenant decides to assume the lease?

02/23/15

Assumption of the lease is permissible even if the terms of the lease expressly prohibit assumption.  Section 365 of the Bankruptcy Code requires a debtor-tenant to meet certain criteria in order to “assume” a lease.  First, and most importantly, the tenant must cure any and all existing defaults, both monetary and non-monetary.  Second, the debtor-tenant must provide “adequate assurance” to the landlord that the debtor will be able to perform under the lease going forward.  The tenant’s obligation to cure defaults includes the payment of late charges or similar charges that arise under the

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What are a Landlord’s “Rejection Damages?”

02/16/15

If the debtor-tenant seeks to terminate and surrender the lease, that is “reject it”, the landlord may be entitled to a “rejection damage” claim.  A landlord is not entitled to the full amount of unpaid obligations for the balance of the lease.  Instead, Section 502(b)(6) limits the recovery a landlord may receive for “rejection damages.” Under Section 502(b)(6) of the Bankruptcy Code, the landlord is entitled to rent due under the rejected lease for the greater of (i.) one year’s rent, or

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How does the “automatic stay” of the bankruptcy code apply to landlords?

02/01/15

The automatic stay is one of the most powerful protections provided to debtors in a bankruptcy proceeding.  The stay acts as an injunction that prohibits creditors (including landlords) from commencing or continuing any proceeding against the debtor which could have been commenced prior to the bankruptcy.  Applied to landlords, the automatic stay prohibits efforts to collect unpaid rent, or seek eviction, setoff, lease termination or foreclosure, among others.

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