Cummings Properties, LLC v. Hines

Summary

The court held that the commercial lease's liquidated-damages provision was enforceable under Massachusetts's single-look approach because the damages were difficult to predict when the lease was formed and the agreed amount was a reasonable forecast of anticipated loss. The landlord was not required to reduce the liquidated damages by rent later obtained from a replacement tenant, and the guarantor failed to show that he lacked sufficient business sophistication to be bound by the lease. The court therefore affirmed the Superior Court judgment awarding the landlord the unpaid balance under the clause.