The Legal Intelligencer

The now-defunct law firm of Titus & McConomy had signed a 10-year lease for office, plus basement storage space in a Pittsburgh building owned by Trizechahn Gateway. Several years later the law firm closed operations and offered to help sublet the space. When it vacated the offices, it left files in the storage area. It continued to make payments for a short while, but later defaulted.

The owner notified the tenant of its intention to recover the storage space in order to correct a building violation, and then constructed an egress in the space to accommodate a new tenant. It also re-leased the office space to other tenants for a term that was longer than the law firm's agreement.

However, because the market had deteriorated, the owner provided rent abatements to the replacement tenants. The owner then initiated a court complaint against the law firm and its general partners to obtain the remaining rent due under the firm's lease agreement. At trial, the court ruled in favor of the owner and said it could receive the accelerated amount due under the lease, less the amount it would receive under the new lease agreements.