AGW Sono Partners, LLC v. Downtown Soho, LLC

Summary

The court held that pandemic-related executive orders did not excuse the commercial tenant's lease obligations under impossibility, impracticability, or frustration-of-purpose doctrines because restaurant use remained legally possible and the lease allocated regulatory-compliance risks to the tenant. The court also held that the trial court improperly placed the burden of proving inadequate mitigation on the landlord. It therefore reversed the damages award and remanded for a new damages hearing while affirming the judgment in all other respects.