Sakele Brothers, LLC v. Pegasus Shipping, Inc.
March 9, 2011
(Civ. Ct. N.Y. Cty. 12/8/03)
Summary judgment was granted after landlord sought to enforce an acceleration clause under the lease between the parties, when after the September 11, 2001 attacks the tenant abandoned the premises without any notice to the landlord. Tenant claimed solely by an affidavit from the company’s president that the space was “completely uninhabitable.” The court found that since this assertion was not supported by any concrete description of how and why the space was uninhabitable, nor by any expert evidence, it was insufficient to defeat summary judgment. Further, the court noted that the defendant could not distinguish between the restrictions that were put in place by law enforcement and other public authorities which affected the general public, and acts of the landlord which denied the tenant access to the premises. Link to Full Text of Decision
