Legal Question in Business Law in California

Unless your lease with the mall contained an 'exclusive' provision protecting you from similar sellers, you have no basis to complain about that. Think multiple clothing stores, multiple food sellers, all in the same mall. If they are breaching your written lease in any way, you can fight it. Read your lease, then consult local counsel.

As the other attorney mentioned, it all depends on the terms of the lease you signed. What are the grounds for the landlord terminating your lease? It is very unlikely they can terminate just because they suddenly decide you are competing with another tenant they previously signed with. Consult with an attorney in your area for specifics and how to proceed.

Kevin B. Murphy, B.S., M.B.A., J.D. - Mr. Franchise

Franchise Attorney

I don't quite agree with Mr. Nelson, who seems to base his analysis on your being the first, rather than the most recent, business of your kind. Mr. Murphy makes more nearly correct statements, but seems to, on the other hand, start from the premise that Mr. Nelson is right.

As I see it, the mall let you sign a lease and move in, then got a complaint from the previous tenant, who evidently had a lease provision protecting it from competitors. Then, the mall proprietor/landlord realized it had made a mistake in leasing to you, so they are now trying to oust you to rectify their boo-boo.

I haven't read your lease, nor have I seen what the mall landlord is saying to you in justification of their attempt to kick you out. However, my hunch is that your lease is valid and the landlord is attempting to breach it, and may be liable to you for serious damages.

However, this is a "breach of lease" level of case, not a Sherman Act antitrust matter.

Mr. Whipple is correct. The other two attorneys clearly did not read your question properly. He is also correct that we cannot give you very reliable advice without seeing your lease and any correspondence from the mall operator about why they think they can cancel your lease. I can tell you that it is legal for a mall operator to agree not to lease to similar businesses when they lease to a specialty business. Nobody wants to open a donut shop in a strip mall if three other donut shops can open in the same place the next month, and cusomers usually want a mix of shops. As long as the first tenant does not enter into so many exclusive leases with malls in the relevant market area as to prevent competition in the market for the entire city, county or other relevant market area, they are free to request exclusive leases with one or several malls. But the fact that the mall has a lease with the first guy that says they aren't supposed to lease to you, doesn't give them the right to breach your lease after they sign it with you. They are between a rock and a hard place, since they are forced to breach one lease or the other due to their mistake, unless they have some kind of loophole in your lease. Your zip code is in Pleasanton. My main office is in Walnut Creek. If you would like to schedule a no-obligation consultation to go over your papers and discuss your options, please feel free to give me a call or send me an email to set up an appointment.

I am not sure what happened, but it sounds like they terminated your rent relationship as you did not have a lease, to give someone else an exclusive? There may be something there - do you want to litigate this?

Best,

Daniel Bakondi, Esq.

[email protected]

415-450-0424

The Law Office of Daniel Bakondi, APLC

870 Market Street, Suite 1161

San Francisco CA 94102

http://www.danielbakondi.com

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I agree with Mr. Murphy, Mr. Whipple and Mr. McCormick, and respectfully disagree with Mr. Nelson.