The Case of the Disappearing Doctor
Dec 01, 2016OUTCOME: Judgment in favor of landlord for all unpaid rent.
A doctor and medical practice leased office space from my landlord client. Six months before the lease expired, the doctor and medical practice disappeared in the middle of the night. It was late ... r discovered that they had moved across town to open the practice at a different location. We filed a lawsuit on behalf of the landlord after the tenant refused to respond to our legal demand. The lawsuit sought the for unpaid rent, interest, attorneys' fees and costs. The disappearing tenant belatedly claimed that termination of the lease had occurred based upon claims about the condition of the property. The court found that the doctor's defenses were untrue and had never been previously disclosed. The doctor's refusal to acknowledge the unpaid rent obligations resulted in a judgment against the tenant for everything claimed by the landlord, including an award of $35,000 for attorneys' fees. It is never a good strategy to run and hide from your legal obligations. Had the tenant dealt with the Landlord proactively, the tenant could have resolved the issue for 1/3 of the final outcome.
