What is the legal effect of an estoppel certificate or, in “shorthand,” an “estoppel”? “Estoppel” is a strange word. To understand its effect, try this non-defining, circular statement: “One who issues an estoppel certificate is then ‘estopped.’” Basically, the certifying person (or entity) is “stopped” from denying that what is said in the certificate is a fact. If one issues an estoppel saying that the traffic light was red, those reasonably relying on that certificate can act as if the light was red even if it wasn’t. In “leasing” terms, if a tenant delivers an estoppel in favor of a prospective successor landlord and that certificate says that the tenant has received all of the tenant improvement money due under the lease, the successor landlord can rely on that statement even if the tenant was mistaken. The tenant is “estopped” or “barred” from making a claim against the successor landlord for that money. The tenant, not the successor landlord, takes the risk of being wrong. [Read more…]