A recent California decision miraculously vacated an arbitration award in a commercial lease dispute. The Columbus Club Inc. owned a banquet room, and leased to a commercial caterer, who did over $300,000 in tenant improvements. The Lessee intended to hold weddings at the location. At their first event, the police showed up and told the [...]
A spite fence is any fence or barrier intended to annoy the neighbor, and serves no purpose to the builder. In California they are governed by Civil Code Section 841.4. The most famous spite fence on California real estate was Charles Crocker’s 40 footer on Nob Hill in 1879.The statute includes any “fence or structure…;” [...]
California Civil Code section 1950.7 controls the commercial Lessor / Landlord’s use of the deposit. A commercial landlord got a surprise in decision involving a San Francisco commercial lease. The tenant had already leased the premises for five years when PERS (Public Employee’s Retirement System, California’s state employee retirement program) bought the building. PERS terminated, [...]
A “Power Coupled With An Interest” is an ancient legal concept that is different from an ordinary power of attorney. A power of attorney gives the attorney-in-fact or agent (the holder of the power) the ability to act on behalf of the principal, who is the person who granted the power. However, in the case [...]
By James BowdenFellow blogger and occupant of the lawyerly Nirvana that is in-house counselhood Mark Herrmann recently wrote a blog post carried by Above The Law noting, in essence: (i) young attorneys don’t have great attention to detail and fail to sweat the small stuff, and (ii) more experienced attorneys obsess over details and are [...]
By James Bowden Much noise is being made in the media over News Corporation’s British subsidiary The News of the World’s alleged hacking into the voice mail of a kidnapped English teen, and even the possibility of similar hacking into 9/11 victims’ voicemail. I’m curious why so little attention is being paid to the possibility [...]
By James Bowden If you are listing agreements, adjectives, putting together a series of representations in a single subsection, or making a shopping list, is the last comma in the series really necessary? I wear two hats here. The first is my “English Major / High School English Teacher” hat, which compels me to say, [...]
By Kathleen Pearson In Chris Matthews’ book, Hardball, he recounts the following story: “Do you guys know who Bill Bradley is? Well, let’s just say he’s everything you’d want to be and more. So here’s Bill one evening at a dinner at the White House. The waiter is filling water glasses and passing out bread [...]
By James Bowden I am now knowingly wading into a political subject in the most non-partisan manner I can manage, with an eye to the legal issues surrounding congressional action (or, to date, inaction) raising the debt ceiling. I am sincerely looking forward to your comments on the many ways that I have failed.Currently, the [...]