It’s easier to “say so” in a lease than to have a court tell you what you meant or wanted  to say. And, that’s true whether the court has ruled in your favor or against you. For one, rulings are usually not entirely favorable. Another is that uncertainty is an enemy. A third is that money is better spent at the outset, as painful as that may be to some. As is often said, “Pay me a little now or a lot more later.”

Today, we’ll introduce a simple California Court of Appeal ruling about the sufficiency of parking at a shopping center. We’re talking about the December 7, 2015 unpublished decision in a case titled: Gietzen v. Goveia. For those interested in seeing the written opinion, click: HERE.

Let’s get the lease’s relevant provisions out of the way. There wasn’t a lot, and here is what we’ve selected: [Read more…]