Haight Obtains $402,971 on Summary Judgment in Commercial Brokerage Dispute

Obtained a $402,971 summary judgment on behalf of plaintiff Jones Lang LaSalle Americas, Inc. (JLL) in a breach of commission agreement action filed in Los Angeles Superior Court. JLL was the broker for tenant Kaiser Permanente to secure an extension of two commercial leases valued at $64 million. The landlord short-paid the commission by $304,000 because it alleged the agreement allowed it to covert a $7.6 million tenant improvement allowance to “free rent.” Because JLL’s commission was based on base rent, landlord argued that it was not required to pay JLL any commission on the tenant improvement allowance. Following a hearing on JLL’s motion for summary judgment as to the entire complaint, the court agreed with JLL’s interpretation of the commission agreement and granted summary judgment for the full amount of the unpaid commission. As part of the judgment, we were able to recover approximately $100,000 in attorneys fees and prejudgment interest.