Court Finds Pandemic Does Not Satisfy Lease’s Casualty Clause
By EsqSocial Corporation 01/04/21
One year into the pandemic, courts have almost uniformly found that COVID-19 does not permit commercial tenants to avoid their rent payment obligations. In this case, the court continued that trend, ruling that the pandemic was not a “casualty” that permits a tenant to abate its rent payments or cancel its lease. Neither the COVID-19 pandemic, nor related governmental closure orders, constitutes a “casualty” under the terms of the Gap lease because neither event caused physical damage to the...
By: Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP