Most, if not all, governors in the U.S. have issued Executive
Orders limiting, or even prohibiting, the operation of certain
businesses. Almost every tenant and the use of their leased
premises have been impacted in some way by COVID-19. The impact of
the respective governors' Executive Orders may depend upon
whether the business is an "essential" business. Whether
an Executive Order may relieve a tenant, in whole or in part, from
a rent obligation depends upon the terms of the tenant's lease
and the terms of the Executive Order.
However, one example in which a tenant was successful in arguing
that it should be relieved of at least part of its obligation to
pay rent was found in the case of In re: Hitz Rest. Grp.
In this case, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District
of Illinois held that a restaurant tenant was partially excused
from paying rent for certain months after Illinois Governor J.B.
Pritzker issued an order requiring restaurants to cease
