CHICAGO TITLE AND TR. CO. v. Baskin Clothing Co.

579 N.E.2d 1045, 219 Ill. App. 3d 726, 162 Ill. Dec. 231, 1991 Ill. App. LEXIS 1572
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedSeptember 13, 1991
Docket1-89-1766
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 579 N.E.2d 1045 (CHICAGO TITLE AND TR. CO. v. Baskin Clothing Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
CHICAGO TITLE AND TR. CO. v. Baskin Clothing Co., 579 N.E.2d 1045, 219 Ill. App. 3d 726, 162 Ill. Dec. 231, 1991 Ill. App. LEXIS 1572 (Ill. Ct. App. 1991).

Opinion

JUSTICE LaPORTA

delivered the opinion of the court:

In a declaratory judgment suit brought by the fee owner land trust against its commercial tenant, Baskin, the plaintiff sought a declaration by the court finding that Baskin is obligated under its written lease with plaintiff and that Baskin be ordered to comply with all lease terms and obligations. The complaint also sought damages in the amount of $36,694.35 plus liquidated damages, interest, attorney fees and other sums as proven. The court granted plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment and following prove up awarded plaintiff damages of $160,176.60 and attorney fees pursuant to the lease. Defendant appeals the court’s orders of May 4, 1989, which entered summary judgment in favor of plaintiff, the order of June 20, 1989, for $160,176.60 following prove up of damages and the order of July 7, 1989, for attorney fees.

On appeal defendant raises seven issues: (1) whether an award of summary judgment to plaintiff was improper in light of the existence of genuine issues of material fact; (2) whether variations in the lease agreement negotiated between plaintiff-lessor and Charles A. Stevens serve to discharge Baskin; (3) whether Baskin can be held liable after plaintiff-lessor exercised its option to terminate the lease by giving advance written notice to Baskin and Stevens that the lease was rejected; (4) in the alternative whether Baskin can be obligated under the lease after January 31, 1989, in light of plaintiff’s advance notice that the lease would terminate on that date; (5) whether the court committed reversible error in ruling that plaintiff’s representations that the lease was terminated were irrelevant and in its refusal to consider these representations or to allow Baskin relevant discovery on the question; (6) whether the trial court erred in ruling that plaintiff had mitigated its damages; (7) whether the trial court erred in awarding plaintiff attorney fees and costs.

On February 12, 1970, Chicago Title and Trust Co., as trustee under land trust No. 53113, as lessor, and defendant Baskin, an Illinois corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hartmarx Specialty Stores, Inc., as tenant, executed a 25-year commercial lease for certain retail store space in the Lakehurst Shopping Center located at Waukegan Road and Illinois Highway 120, in Waukegan, Illinois. Chas. A. Stevens & Co., an Illinois corporation, also a wholly owned subsidiary of Hartmarx, was designated and executed the agreement as guarantor of the lease. Hartmarx had offices in Chicago, Illinois. The lease was amended by letters of amendment executed by the trustee and by Baskin on April 28, 1971, and on June 27, 1978, to increase the fixed minimum rent and to decrease the total square footage of leased space.

On September 30, 1982, lessor Chicago Title & Trust Co., land trust No. 53113, transferred and assigned its interest in certain Lakehurst Shopping Center leases, including the Baskin lease, to Teachers Realty Corporation, an Ohio corporation, which simultaneously assigned its interest to Chicago Title & Trust Company trust No. 1082512, the plaintiff in this litigation.

On August 9, 1984, the lessor land trust beneficiary, Lakehurst Joint Venture, a partnership with offices in Cleveland, Ohio, acting through its agent, Jacobs, Visconsi & Jacobs Co., and lessee Baskin, executed an amendment to the lease to sublease a portion of the tenant’s space to a third-party tenant.

On January 1, 1985, Baskin assigned its lease to Chas. A. Stevens. While both parties acknowledge the assignment, no copy of an executed document assigning the lease space to Stevens is part of the record. No allegation is made that the lessor participated in the assignment or approved of it.

On January 14, 1988, lessor and Stevens executed a document entitled “Option to Terminate Lease,” which gave lessor the sole right to terminate the Baskin-Stevens lease. Baskin did not participate or execute the written option to terminate.

On or about June 21, 1988, Chas. A. Stevens filed its petition in bankruptcy in the United States District Court, case number 88B 9575. The bankruptcy referee entered an automatic stay order on that date.

On August 2, 1988, lessor by its attorney filed an objection to Stevens’ motion for approval of the sale of certain inventory. In the objection pleading signed by plaintiff-lessor’s attorney, paragraph 7 states in part: “On or about January 12, 1988, Landlord and Stevens entered into an option to terminate which will terminate the lease on January 31, 1989.”

On August 4, 1988, plaintiff lessor moved in the bankruptcy proceeding to modify the automatic stay order to permit lessor to bring a forcible entry and detainer action in the State court to recover possession of the leased premises, alleging that Stevens had paid no rent from June 21, the date the bankruptcy petition was filed, and as of August 1, Stevens owed lessor $43,071.15. The motion further alleged:

“The Debtor has not assumed the lease. Pursuant to Section 365(d)(4) [11 U.S.C. §365(d)(4) (1988)] if the Debtor does not assume or reject an unexpired lease of non-residential real property on which the Debtor is a lessee within sixty days of after [sic] the date of the order for relief, then such lease is deemed rejected, and the Debtor is required to immediately surrender such non-residential real property to Landlords.”

The motion further stated: “The Debtor has no equity in the Lease. The three leases will terminate on January 31, 1989.” The record is silent as to the bankruptcy court ruling on the motion.

Thereafter on October 24, 1988, plaintiff-lessor filed its complaint for declaratory judgment against Baskin seeking a declaration of the respective rights of the parties under the lease, a declaration that Baskin is obligated under the lease and required to comply with all its terms and obligations, entry of judgment in favor of plaintiff-lessor against defendant Baskin in the sum of $36,694.35 through October 1, 1988, plus liquidated damages, interest, costs, attorney fees and other sums proved at trial or prove up. Baskin answered the complaint on December 1, with a general denial and prayed for dismissal of the suit.

On March 1, 1989, plaintiff moved for summary judgement based on section 8.2 of the rider to the lease, which stated in relevant part:

“Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Lease, tenant may without Landlord’s consent assign this Lease or sublet the demised premises to Tenant’s parent or to a subsidiary or affiliate of said parent or to any corporation growing out of a consolidation or merger of any of the aforesaid provided, however, Tenant and its successor or assignee and Guarantor, shall continue and remain fully liable hereunder.”

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579 N.E.2d 1045, 219 Ill. App. 3d 726, 162 Ill. Dec. 231, 1991 Ill. App. LEXIS 1572, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/chicago-title-and-tr-co-v-baskin-clothing-co-illappct-1991.