Mattress store wins dispute over rent early in pandemic
April 26, 2021
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BAY CITY, Mich. (AP) — A judge has ruled in favor of a Bay City mattress store that declined to pay rent for two months last year when the business was closed because of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's pandemic orders.
Mattress Firm argued a legal theory known as “frustration of purpose.” U.S. District Judge Thomas Ludington said it was an appropriate defense against paying $21,000 in base rent to Bay City Realty. The mattress store had been barred from conducting business.
“Whether ‘frustration of purpose’ or other common law defenses may be available is heavily dependent on the facts of each case, in particular the language of the operable lease, and the applicable law,” said Warner Norcross & Judd, a law firm that closely watched the case.