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COVID-19 Related Governmental Shut Down Order Triggers Force Majeure Provision In Restaurant Leases
As we all expected, cases are being brought and decided on the issue of whether the COVID-19 pandemic and related governmental shut down orders trigger force majeure clauses in commercial leases and operate to excuse the performance of commercial tenants. While commercial leases and the force majeure clauses contained in such leases vary widely, the recent decision from the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois in In re Hitz Restaurant Group, 616 B.R. 374, 2020 WL 2924523 (Bankr. N.D. Ill. 2020) may provide guidance to parties and help them to resolve similar disputes without resorting to the courts.
In In re Hitz Restaurant Group, a tenant leased commercial property located in Illinois for restaurant use. The force majeure clause in its lease stated:
"Landlord and Tenant shall each be excused from performing its obligations or undertakings provided in this Lease, in the event, but only so long as the performance of any of its obligations are prevented or delayed, retarded or hindered by … laws, governmental action or inaction, orders of government …. Lack of money shall not be grounds for Force Majeure."
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