Highlights
In its Business Litigation Session, the Massachusetts Superior Court granted partial summary judgment in favor of a commercial tenant café, holding that its payment obligations were discharged for the period of time when on-premises consumption of food and beverages was prohibited due to Gov. Charlie Baker's COVID-19 orders.
Relying on an express lease provision limiting the tenant's use of the premises to the operation of a café, and interpreting the lease as not allocating "the risk of a global viral pandemic coming to Massachusetts and leading to a government order shutting down the entire restaurant industry," the court held that the tenant's performance was excused by the common-law defense of frustration of purpose.