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Case No. 23-0934

Motter v. All the Cats, LLC

County:
Polk

Scott Motter, Plaintiff-Appellant/Cross-Appellee

All the Cats, LLC, Defendant-Appellee/Cross-Appellant

Ghost Lounge, LLC and Larry Mason, Jr., Defendants-Appellees

______________________________

All the Cats, LLC, Counterclaim/Cross-Claim Plaintiff

Ghost Lounge, LLC, Scott Motter, and Larry Lee Mason, Jr., Counterclaim/Cross-Claim Defendants

Attorney for Appellant

David J. Hellstern and Jeffrey P. Schultz

Attorney for Appellee All the Cats, LLC

Mollie Pawlosky

Attorney for Appellee Larry Mason

Valerie Cramer

Court of Appeals

Court of Appeals Opinion

Opinion Number:
23-0934
Date Published:
Oct 16, 2024
Summary

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Coleman McAllister, Judge.  AFFIRMED AND REMANDED.  Heard by Tabor, P.J., and Chicchelly and Sandy, JJ.  Opinion by Chicchelly, J.  (15 pages)

            Parties to a commercial lease agreement signed one month before the start of the COVID‑19 global pandemic appeal the judgment entered by the district court for nonperformance.  OPINION HOLDS: I. The record supports the trial court’s finding that nonperformance was not excused by impossibility or frustration of performance because any impossibility or frustration of performance was both temporary and partial.  The record also supports its finding that a lease assignment to a third party and the property owner’s settlement with that third party did not release the personal guarantors from their obligation under lease.  Because a claim that the property owner converted the lease deposit to benefit a third party was tied to performance of the lease, the district court properly denied it.  We affirm the award of trial attorney fees.  II. Because a lease provision about the due date for the first month of rent is reasonably open to interpretation, the district court did not err in construing it against the property owner.  We affirm the amount of damages awarded for breach of contract and remand to the district court to determine a reasonable award of appellate attorney fees.

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