FPA Crescent Associates, LLC (FPA) owns the Crescent Building in Spokane, Washington. It leased a portion of the building to Pendleton Enterprises LLC (Pendleton). The lease defined the “lease term” as beginning on the commencement date and ending on the expiration date, unless terminated sooner pursuant to the express terms and conditions of the lease. The lease authorized FPA to terminate the lease on any event of default. The lease terms provided that if the tenant defaulted on any of its terms, the landlord then had “the option to terminate this Lease, in which event Tenant shall immediately […]
commercial eviction
5 posts
Any LLC or corporation appearing as a party in a lawsuit must be represented by an attorney. A non-lawyer cannot represent a professional services corporation, even if he or she is the corporation’s sole director, officer, and shareholder. This rule applies in eviction cases (a.k.a. unlawful detainer actions), and applies whether the property is commercial or residential. The Washington Court of Appeals applied this rule a couple of years ago.[1] A dentist and his commercial landlord were in a long-standing dispute over common area maintenance charges. The commercial landlord served a notice to pay rent or vacate then brought an […]
To start an eviction lawsuit in Washington (a.k.a. an unlawful detainer action) the landlord must first serve applicable notices such as a notice to pay rent or vacate, comply or vacate, or a notice to terminate a month to month tenancy. Next, the landlord must serve a summons and a complaint. The same type of documents are the starting point in any lawsuit—although the exact content of course varies in evictions from other types of lawsuits. The same strict rules about how to serve the summons and complaint applies in evictions as in other lawsuits, essentially requiring that a disinterested […]
Old City Hall LLC bought a commercial building in Tacoma with the intent to convert it into luxury condos. Old City Hall needed tenants in the building to vacate to speed up the process. Old City Hall offered to “buy out” existing commercial leases – offering the commercial tenants financial incentives to agree to terminate leases early and vacate. Most of the tenants accepted, but two tenants declined. Soon the building began to deteriorate. Janitorial services the landlord was contractually obligated to provide declined. Trash began to pile up. Human feces from unauthorized occupants littered the building.
A landlord leased commercial space to a tenant to operate a nightclub. The commercial tenant fell behind in rent. The landlord served a notice to pay rent or vacate, giving the statutory three-day period. The lease provided for twenty days to cure non-payment of rent. The tenant argued on appeal that the notice was defective. Although the notice only gave three days to cure non-payment of rent, the landlord waited more than twenty days before filing the summons and complaint. The Court of Appeals ruled that waiting the additional period before taking further action was sufficient, even though the notice […]