Case Notes

A North Carolina commercial tenant that told a potential purchaser of the leased premises that the landlords were in default on the lease — thereby permitting the potential purchaser to pull out of the sale agreement — has been denied summary dismissal of the landlord's cause of action for tortious interference with contract. ITW Charlotte, LLC. v. ITW Commercial Construction, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 173712 (W.D.N.C. 10/20/17).

Plaintiff landlords ITW Charlotte, LLC, Once, LLC, and Burlingame Investment Holdings (landords) brought suit for tortious interference with contract against their tenant ITW Commercial Construction, North America (CCNA or “tenant”). The tenant moved for dismissal of that cause of action in accordance with Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
The parties had entered into a lease for a commercial building in April 2016. Prior to signing, the tenant conducted an inspection of the premises and accepted the building's condition as adequate for the operation of its business. However, after taking possession, the tenant determined that the firefighting sprinkler system was inadequate, and claimed that this defect was not reasonably discoverable during the initial inspection. CCNA wrote to the landlords requesting permission to upgrade the system, and the landlords approved. CCNA then had the alterations made and paid for them.