I am a business owner in PA who was leased a commercial space in a seven story building... basement level. We were forced to close down as a result of Landlord/Tenant dispute where my partner placed Rents into an escrow account because the building was not up to fire code... which is the sole responsibility of the landlord to rectify. That dispute is in litigation. However, the complaint was against my partner in his private capacity for breach of contract. Does my business have standing to sue for damages for loss of revenue, breach of contract, and negligence in order to recoup the losses resulting from the injury caused by the Landlord's non-compliance to local codes/regulations?

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Originally Posted by Autarkic

Does my business have standing to sue my landlord for code violations? ...my partner placed Rents into an escrow account due to the fact that the building was not up to fire code... However, the complaint was against my partner in his private capacity for breach of contract

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Hello A:

In a word, yes. But I don't know HOW you're going to go about it under the present circumstances. Your partnership needs a lawyer.

Assuming your legal arrangement with your partner is a GENERAL partnership, and the partnership entered into the lease, in terms of dealing with your landlord, your partner cannot act in his "private capacity". I don't know why he thought he could, or why the landlord bought into it, but the suit that is IN litigation sounds like the one you need to join and file a countersuit under, assuming your partner DIDN'T.

Given that your damages should be way more than the limit in small claims court, it can be bumped up to your district court.

excon

First, I moved this from the Small Claims forum as it seemed more appropriate here.

There are some questions here. Like was the lease entered into between the landlord and the business or between the landlord and your partner? Also commercial leases tend to be very detailed about the responsibilities of the parties so the terms of the lease will have a significant affect on any litigation.

You really need a lawyer to advise you here. While on the face of things the landlord would be liable for your business losses if he failed to correct building violations there could be extenuating circumstances. Like for example if your business was not properly zoned for the area. Or you misused the space. Basically, I'm saying the issues here are too complex for us to give a comprehensive answer.

Okay... Thanks for the input from all of you. After careful consideration of local rules and regulations I have determined that:

a) That, a building in code violation cannot collect rents from tenants while said violations are unresolved under the Rent Withholding Act (35 P.S. Section 1700-1) nor may the Landlord evict a tenant for placing rents into escrow;

b) That, under Codes and Ordinances of the City of Reading, Ch 27 §27-205. Causes of Action. A tenant has a right to sue the landlord for the code violations and recover/recoup damages as a result of injury from the Landlord's negligence; and

c) That, considering my partner was the one sued, fraudulently I might add, my business has a direct right to counter suit as an intervener since the eviction directly effected the commercial operations of my establishment by extension.

Again I thank you for your 'opinion' and 'information' on this matter

Thanks for coming back with an update.

Thank you each of you for your candidness and opinions... it helped to place me on the right track in the present matter. In all sincerest gratitude. It is this sort of freedom of forwarding information that shall help to heal our system and allow for more informed entrepreneurs to find avenues in recovering from being taken advantage of by large corporations. Lets keep the flow of information alive and work toward a better economy for our lineage. After all, "We The People..." are who is responsible for "We The People". I wish you all the best in your endeavors... strive for one another.

Nam Humanitas Emolumentum...