Baldwin Plaza, LLC v. Xuan Thi-My Duong
Dec 01, 2013OUTCOME: My client (landlord) prevailed on eviction of contested commercial tenant
A landlord defended an attack to the validity of an early out clause in a summary proceedings case in the 52-3 (Rochester) District Court, in Baldwin Plaza, LLC v. Xuan Thi-My Duong, Case No. 13-C01635 ... , aff’d on appeal, where the tenant argued that the clause was unconscionable, or simply unfair. The landlord ultimately prevailed, because the courts found that the tenant had ample opportunity to negotiate and/or reject the lease if it did not want to be bound by the early out provision. However, under Michigan law, a district court’s ruling is not binding on other courts, so this landlord-favoring ruling from the 52-3 District Court, even though upheld on appeal, does not have precedential effect. Binding or not, this decision should give some confidence to landlords that utilize and rely on early out clauses in the future.
