Malka v. Koury, Unpublished Decision (5-22-2000)
Malka v. Koury, Unpublished Decision (5-22-2000)
Opinion of the Court
OPINION
Defendant-appellant Jack Koury appeals the September 20, 1999 Judgment Entry of the Canton Municipal Court which ordered appellant to deliver his property to his lessee, plaintiff-appellee Muhammad Malka.The agreement also contained a provision requiring Mittas to repair any damage to the leasehold premises under certain conditions. This provision was contained in Paragraph 5(b) of the lease, and states: If the premises shall be destroyed or so injured by the elements or other cause as to be unfit for the carrying on of the Lessee's business, Lessee shall not be liable for payment of rent during the time the premises are unfit for occupancy. Lessor agrees to restore the untenable premises to a good and usable condition at the Lessor's expense within one hundred twenty (120) days. Lessee may, at its option, elect to occupy a part of the premises during the period of reconstruction and the rent shall be abated in proportion to the amount of the premises not used. The term hereof shall be extended for such length of time that the rent is so abated.
On May 8, 1997, Mr. Malka entered into a sublease agreement for the Mittas property entitled "Lease Agreement with Option to Purchase" (hereinafter referred to as "Sublease") with Mohammad Al-Rashdan. Pursuant to the sublease, Malka agreed to sublet the property to Mr. Al-Rashdan. Mr. Al-Rashdan operated a convenience store in these premises until November, 1998, when a fire rendered the premises unfit for continued use. Mittas began the restoration of the leased premises pursuant to paragraph 5(b) of the lease agreement. However, on February 25, 1999, Mittas sold the property, subject to the lease, to appellant. Thereafter, appellant chose to halt the remodeling efforts. As a result, Mr. Al-Rashdan was unable to re-open the convenience store. On May 18, 1999, Mr. Malka filed a complaint in the Canton Municipal Court, alleging breach of contract and asserting his right to the equitable remedy of replevin. The complaint named Mittas and appellant as defendants. Thereafter, on June 28, 1999, appellant filed his answer to the complaint and a third party complaint against Mr. Al-Rashdan, the sublessee of the premises. On July 28, 1999, Mr. Malka filed an amended complaint which eliminated the Mittas defendants. The matter proceeded to a trial to the court on September 2 and 3, 1999. After testimony and exhibits, the trial court took the matter under advisement. In a September 20, 1999 Judgment Entry, the trial court found in favor of Mr. Malka and ordered appellant to redeliver the leasehold premises to Mr. Malka for the remainder of the lease term, increased by the time Mr. Malka was wrongfully removed from the premises. It is from that judgment entry appellant prosecutes this appeal, assigning the following as error:
I. THE TRIAL COURT COMMITTED REVERSIBLE ERROR IN FINDING THAT DEFENDANT MITTAS HAD WAIVED A FORFEITURE OF THE LEASE.
II. THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN FAILING TO DETERMINE WHETHER APPELLEE MALKA TERMINATED HIS LEASE WITH DEFENDANT MITTAS.
Id. at 202. (Emphasis added).
Accordingly, we look to the record to determine whether Mittas waived their right to forfeit the lease. At trial, Mr. Mittas testified he was never told about the sublease to Mr. Al-Rashdan and never received a copy of it. However, Mr. Mittas admitted he received rent checks for the leased premises signed by Mr. Al-Rashdan. In fact, in one case, Mr. Mittas filled-in the payee line for Mr. Al-Rashdan to sign. T. at 83-84. In its judgment entry, the trial court states: The record before the court is clear that Mittas was aware of the subletting to Al-Rashdan and acquiesced in his use of the leased premises. The court finds that Mittas waived, as a basis for declaring a forfeiture of the lease, the subletting to Al-Rashdan.
We find the record contains competent, credible, circumstantial evidence Mittas knew Mr. Malka had sublet the premises but took no action to terminate the lease. Mittas waived his right to forfeit under the lease when he learned of the sublease, took no action to terminate the lease based upon the breach, and accepted rent from the sublessee. Accordingly, appellant's first assignment of error is overruled.
The September 20, 1999 Judgment Entry of the Canton Municipal Court is affirmed.
WISE, J. and READER, V.J. CONCUR.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.