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McGlinchey's Commercial Law Bulletin is a biweekly update of recent, unique, and impactful cases in state and federal courts in the area of commercial litigation.

Ohio

"Best efforts"

Cintrifuse Landlord LLC v. Panino, LLC, 1st Dist. Hamilton, No. 2022-Ohio-4104

In this appeal, the First Appellate District reversed the trial court's decision to grant the plaintiff's motion for summary judgment finding an issue of fact existed as to whether the plaintiff had utilized its "best efforts" to obtain government approval for part of a commercial lease.

The Bullet Point: As the court noted, in commercial lease agreements, the phrase "best efforts" "has been widely held to be an ambiguous contract term and on the factual circumstances surrounding an agreement." Definitions of "best efforts" vary among jurisdictions. A minority of courts have held that "best efforts" is equivalent to the duty of good faith. The First District declined to follow the minority rule,