On September 25, 2023, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court issued an important decision that affects commercial landlords’ ability to accelerate rent as liquidated damages after a Lessee’s default in Cummings Properties,...more
In an important recent decision for Massachusetts landlords, the Massachusetts Appeals Court determined that a rent acceleration clause in a commercial lease constituted an unenforceable penalty where it permitted the...more
Massachusetts' highest court, in its 2007 opinion in Cummings Properties, LLC v. National Communications Corp., 449 Mass. 490, 494 (2007), shocked commercial leasing lawyers by announcing that accelerated rent clauses (i.e.,...more
On December 5, the Massachusetts Appeals Court issued an important decision impacting commercial landlords’ ability to accelerate rent as liquidated damages after a Lessee’s default in Cummings Properties, LLC vs. Darryl C....more
In March, when much of the country was first experiencing the effects of the COVID‐19 pandemic, it was commonly believed that things would return to normal soon. Nearly nine months later, most of us have come to realize that...more
Acceleration of rental provisions in commercial leases allow the landlord, upon the tenant’s default, to accelerate the balance of the rent due for the balance of the lease term making it due and payable immediately, much...more