MaryBeth Heydt and Denyse Jones will present, "Impossibility, Impracticability, Frustration of Purpose, and Force Majeure: History, Commercial Leasing Lessons Learned during COVID-19 and Strategies for the Future," at Thomson Reuters & Celesq® AttorneysEd Center on Wednesday, September 4, 2024.
Commercial landlords and tenants should understand the evolving case law related to available defenses when a tenant is unable to pay rent. Many lessons were learned during the pandemic, such as effectively using contractual force majeure clauses or, alternatively, common law defenses to seek relief. Case law has evolved accordingly.
Commonly used common law defenses include impossibility of performance, commercial impracticability, and frustration of purpose. Counsel for commercial landlords and tenants should be aware of how courts are ruling on these defenses to prepare the best case moving forward. Defense counsel must also understand the state-specific details related to common law defenses, such as what qualifies as an impossibility and when and how a force majeure clause may override the availability of these defenses.
The panel will guide landlord and tenant counsel on both contractual and common law defenses in breach of lease cases due to failure to pay rent. It will address recent case law regarding how courts have analyzed claims of frustration of purpose, impossibility, and other common law defenses.
For more information, visit the event website.