Parking Management, Inc. v. Union Center Plaza Associates, Inc.

415 F. Supp. 1201, 1976 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15078
CourtDistrict Court, District of Columbia
DecidedMay 14, 1976
DocketCiv. A. No. 1148-73
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 415 F. Supp. 1201 (Parking Management, Inc. v. Union Center Plaza Associates, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, District of Columbia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Parking Management, Inc. v. Union Center Plaza Associates, Inc., 415 F. Supp. 1201, 1976 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15078 (D.D.C. 1976).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

SIRICA, District Judge.

On April 24, 1968, the plaintiff, Parking Management, Inc., (hereafter “PMI”) entered into a written agreement with the. defendants, Union Center Plaza Associates, et al., (hereafter “Plaza ■ Associates”) in which the Plaza Associates agreed to lease to PMI 252,000 square feet of garage space in the Union Center Plaza South Building, the construction of which had not yet begun. PMI presumably wished to lease the space for the purpose of operating a commercial parking facility in the lower levels of the building.

The written agreement provided for a period of twenty years with the- specific rental charge per annum and six “conditions” concerning the operation of the agreement. The lease was to become effective upon 80% occupancy of the proposed office building structure. Condition No. 6 of this written agreement, the section, of the agreement which is the subject of the dispute in this case, states as follows:

6. If 65% of the building proper is leased to a single tenant and this single tenant demands control of the parking facilities under their own specific parking operations then and only then will this lease be null and void.

Subsequent negotiations between Plaza Associates and the General Services Administration (hereafter. “GSA”), based upon a solicitation package entitled “General Lease Specifications and Requirements No. 68” resulted in Plaza Associates submitting a lease proposal to the Government by which ■the Government would lease the entire net usable square feet of the office space of the Union Center Plaza South Building. The formal proposal was submitted to the Government on July 6, 1971, and amended July 8, 1971.

By letter dated September 3, 1971, the Government accepted- the lease proposal submitted in response to General Lease Specifications and Requirements No. 68 and stated, among other things, that the unit rates for the parking, must be established prior to a lease agreement; that a field measurement would be completed to determine whether the net usable square feet of space delivered would comply with the proposal; and that the award of the lease would be contingent upon Plaza Associates’ compliance with certain additional clauses dealing with - Executive Order 11615.1

As required by the Government, Plaza Associates indicated their concurrence with the letter of September 3,1971 by signing a copy and returning it to the Government on September 7, 1971.

Subsequent to the signing of this letter agreement, further negotiations between Plaza Associates, GSA and representatives of the Federal Power Commission (hereafter “FPC”), the agency which was to occupy and become the actual tenant of the leased premises,, took place. A formal “U. S. Government Lease for Real Property” was drawn in the spring of 1973 and signed by representatives .of the Plaza Associates and the Government.

The lease was drawn on a “GSA Standard Form 2”' and the parties backdated the “Date of Lease” to September 3, 1971, the date on which the Government notified Plaza Associates by letter of its acceptance, with certain conditions, of the lease proposal.

[1203]*1203Paragraph 1 of the lease described the premises as “253,547 net usable square feet of space in Union Center Plaza South Building located at 825 North Capitol Street, N. E., Washington, D. C.” Paragraph 2 set the term of the lease as “twenty (20) years from the date of occupancy . . . . The exact date of the twenty year period will be established by Supplemental Agreement after acceptance of all of the space.” And Paragraph 7 states in pertinent part:

7. The following are attached and made a part hereof:
2. General Lease Specifications and Requirements No. 68, dated July 6, 1971.
3. The Lessor’s offer dated July 6, 1971 as amended July 8, 1971.
4. The Government’s letter of acceptance dated September 3, 1971 as concurred in by the Lessor on September 7, 1971.

The FPC began occupying the Union Center Plaza South Building in the spring of 1973. Soon thereafter the Federal Power Employees’ Association began operating the parking garage for the use of the FPC employees. When PMI sought control of the parking facilities in accordance with their prior contract with Plaza Associates dated April 24,1968, Plaza Associates refused to honor that contract. Plaza Associates took the position that the PMI contract was null and void due to the operation of “Condition 6” thereof, since the tenant demanded control over the parking facilities.

On June 12, 1973, PMI filed this suit for breach of contract seeking damages and specific performance.

MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

This Court is of the opinion that there are no material facts in dispute in this case and that it is therefore ripe for summary judgment. The controversy which exists involves the interpretation of Condition 6 of the contract dated April 24, 1968 between PMI and Plaza Associates. This Court must determine whether, on the facts here present, this condition to the contract operated to render the contract null and void.

Under Condition 6 of the contract the parties agreed that the entire contract would be null and void upon the occurrence of the following three elements of Condition 6:

1. If 65% or more of the building were leased to a single tenant, and

2. If that single tenant demanded control of the parking facilities in that building, and

3. If the tenant demanded control under its own specific parking operations.

FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

I.

The first element of Condition 6 is not in dispute since it is uncontroverted that the Government leased the entire net usable square footage of the building for the tenant FPC. Therefore more than 65% of the building was leased to a single tenant.

II.

The occurrence of the second element of Condition 6 is more difficult to determine: whether the tenant made a “demand” for control of the parking facilities within the meaning of the contract. It seems clear that the intent of the parties in using this language in Condition 6 was to give the lessor, Plaza Associates, some flexibility in its negotiations with various prospective tenants in the securing of a long term lease for the office building portion of the structure. This is especially understandable in a case such as this, where the building had not yet even been started when the contract between PMI and Plaza Associates for the parking garage portion of the building was entered into. The lessor could not have possibly known the specific requirements, needs and desires of possible future tenants at that point in time. It is quite easy to see the lessor’s purpose in making this condition a part of the agreement. Should a possible tenant or the tenant’s representative, in negotiations for a lease, express the ten[1204]*1204ant’s desire for control over the parking facilities for the tenant’s employees under its own parking arrangements, this matter could be negotiated and the lessor would be free to use such a request by a prospective tenant as a tool at the bargaining table. If such a “demand” by the tenant was made, then the lessor would be free to become a party to such a lease and the previous contract would be voided.

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415 F. Supp. 1201, 1976 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15078, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/parking-management-inc-v-union-center-plaza-associates-inc-dcd-1976.