Breach of Lease Doesn’t Negate Earlier Exercise of Option to Purchase Property – Illinois Court

A dispute over the purchase price of a veterinary practice boiled over into multi-year litigation after the plaintiff in Ruffolo v. Jordan, 2015 IL App (1st) 140969 leased the defendant’s practice under a multi-year lease with an option to buy. The plaintiff exercised the purchase option in August 2005 and paid rent for 18 months until …

Commercial Landlord’s Suit for Rent Damages Accruing After Possession Order Survives Tenant’s Res Judicata Defense

18th Street Property, LLC v. A-1 Citywide Towing & Recovery, Inc., 2015 IL App (1st) 142444-U examines the res judicata and collateral estoppel doctrines in a commercial lease dispute. The plaintiff landlord obtained a possession order and judgment in late 2012 on a towing shop lease that expired March 31, 2013.  About six months after the possession order, the lessor sued …

Commercial Landlord Not Entitled to Double Rent Under Holdover Statute Where Tenant Had Legitimate Belief It Had Right to Possess Space – IL 1st Dist.

I’ve written on here before about how a tenant holding over after a lease expires can lead to a serious case of option paralysis for the landlord.  Questions abound in rapid-fire fashion: should the landlord accept the holdover and continue the lease on the same terms as before? Should the landlord seek double rent under the forcible statute?  Should …