Commercial Landlords

Mattress Firm Files Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in Delaware – Commercial Landlords Take Notice

10/26/18

Earlier this month, Mattress Firm, Inc., and its affiliated debtors (collectively, “Mattress Firm”) filed for chapter 11 protection in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.  Through the bankruptcy, Mattress Firm expects to complete a prepackaged restructuring within 45 to 60 days.

Commercial landlords need to pay close attention to this bankruptcy.  Mattress Firm has already filed court motions for approval to reject up to 700 leases and will begin to close roughly 200 stores in the next few days.

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Abengoa Court Enters Order Permitting Debtors to Reject Nonresidential Real Property Leases

04/25/16

Recently in the Abengoa SA bankruptcy proceeding (click here to review prior post), the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware entered an order permitting Debtors to reject certain nonresidential real property leases (the “Rejection Order”).

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Pacific Sunwear Files Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in Delaware – Commercial Landlords Beware

04/11/16

On April 7, 2016, Pacific Sunwear of California, Inc. (aka PacSun, aka Pacific Sunwear) filed for chapter 11 protection in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

Through the bankruptcy, Pacific Sunwear is seeking bankruptcy protection in order to get rid of two thirds of its debt and restore its balance sheet, according to CEO Gary Schoenfeld in a statement. Pacific Sunwear is also looking to reduce the cost of running its stores, either by negotiating with landlords or getting out of leases.

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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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Howry Creditors Commitee Appeals Decision Providing Priority Status to Landlords

09/04/15

In a prior post, we discussed the ruling of the Northern District of California Bankruptcy Court in the In re Howrey LLP case, whereby the Court found that claims for unpaid rent of landlords of an involuntary debtor were entitled to priority status. Recently, the creditors’ committee in the Howrey bankruptcy case appealed the decision.

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Priority Status Given to Claims of Landlords Against Involuntary Debtors

08/17/15

On August 11, 2015, the Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California ruled on an issue “of apparent first impression” that claims for unpaid rent brought by landlords for office space leased to the former law firm of Howrey LLP should be given priority status under the Bankruptcy Code.  The case is styled as In re Howrey LLP, C.A. No. 11-31376 (Bankr. N.D. Ca. Aug.

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Ten Things Every Commercial Landlord Should Know About a Tenant in Bankruptcy

04/06/15

With several significant recent bankruptcy filings such as RadioShack and Saladworks, tenant bankruptcies become a greater risk for commercial landlords. Yet some landlords are not familiar with the rights provided to them under the Bankruptcy Code, nor are they aware of the protections provided to a tenant in bankruptcy. For example, certain lease provisions are unenforceable once a tenant files for bankruptcy. Should a landlord attempt to exercise its rights under the lease without first seeking approval from the bankruptcy court, the landlord may be subject to strong sanctions.

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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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