Following two contentious trials, Butters Brazilian LLP Of Counsel Attorney, Lenard B. Zide, with the capable assistance of Attorney Edward Serues, secured a major victory for our commercial landlord client, recovering possession of a 13,000 square foot commercial bakery production facility from a defaulted tenant and $210,000 in unpaid back rent (100 Norfolk Street Realty Trust v. Chen’s Food Enterprise, Inc., et. al. CA# 2402SU00024).
In 2018, our client, landlord, leased a portion of its large commercial/industrial building on Kemble Street in Roxbury to a food distribution company. Although deemed essential and open for business during the pandemic lockdown, the commercial tenant nonetheless wrongly ceased paying all rent.
Despite repeated unsuccessful efforts by the landlord to recover the rent, the tenant was finally defaulted under its lease. In February 2024, Attorney Zide commenced a summary process action in the Roxbury Municipal Court. During the three-day bench trial, the tenant repeatedly asserted claims that it was entitled to an offset of all of the unpaid rent; these claims were subsequently rejected by the Court.
On September 9, 2024, after a thorough review of all the evidence and testimony, the Court (Fiandaca, J.) awarded possession of the Premises to the landlord and ordered the tenant to pay the landlord all of the unpaid back rent, totaling more than $210,000.
In a notoriously tenant friendly jurisdiction, at Butters Brazilian LLP, our Boston-based Real Estate team is dedicated to upholding our landlord-clients’ rights by providing personalized and meticulous representation. Attorney Zide has extensive experience negotiating and drafting commercial leases, as well as enforcing their terms. He may be reached via email at zide@buttersbrazilian.com. For more information about any of our services, please contact us at 617-367-2600.