Commercial Lease Disputes: Key Defenses for Landlords and Tenants: Includes practical examples based on New York law

Course Description

This 60‑minute program explains why parties use written commercial leases to allocate risk and define remedies, then surveys common tenant and landlord defaults and the function of Yellowstone injunctions in preserving the status quo during cure periods. Building on that foundation, the course offers a focused analysis of key defenses in New York commercial lease litigation, including force majeure clauses, New York Real Property Law § 227, impossibility, frustration of purpose, and commercial impracticability.

Principles

• Commercial leases allocate risk by defining the parties’ rights, obligations, default provisions, and contractual remedies, making the lease language the starting point for resolving disputes
• Landlord and tenant defaults, notice requirements, cure periods, and available remedies are governed by both the lease terms and applicable law, making procedural compliance critical to preserving legal rights
• A Yellowstone injunction is a unique procedural remedy that allows a commercial tenant to preserve the leasehold while litigating disputed defaults, provided the required elements are satisfied before the cure period expires
• Defenses to enforcement of commercial lease obligations—including force majeure, Real Property Law § 227, impossibility, frustration of purpose, and commercial impracticability—are narrowly applied and depend on the lease language and the specific facts of the dispute

Syllabus

1. Introduction and Risk Allocation in Written Leases
2. Defaults, Remedies, and Notice/Cure Mechanics
3. Yellowstone Injunctions: Purpose, Elements, Practice Tips
4. Substantive Defenses to Payment/Performance
5. Practice Checklists