Experts in Construction and Lease Terms
SWPlaza III, LLC v. TSA Stores, Inc., is a Central District opinion dealing with the termination of a lease in a shopping center after a tornado damaged the tenant's commercial store. The lease contained a provision allowing the tenant to terminate the lease if the damage reached a specific percentage of the total reconstruction cost (35%); the tenant's estimate exceeded the percentage limit and it terminated the lease. The landlord sought to enforce the lease and claimed that the estimates provided by the tenant were made in bad faith. The Court held that a significant issue of fact existed regarding the propriety of the estimates.
- In what will undoubtedly become a cited case should House Bill 5293 be passed amending the requirements and standards in Illinois for expert testimony, the Court went through an extensive analysis of the qualifications of a construction contractor providing estimates and his ability to offer testimony as an expert under Daubert.
