Fixing Rent Under A Lease Option

A recent case, Cablevision of Oakland, LLC v. CK Bergen Holdings, LLC, Superior Court (Appellate Division) (2014 WL 923226), shows that an arbitration provision in a lease to establish rent for an option term, can be enforced, notwithstanding obstacles imposed by one of the parties.

CK Bergen Holdings, LLC, as landlord, and Cablevision of Oakland, LLC, as tenant, were parties into a lease that provided for rent during an extension term to be based on the then fair market value of the premises. The lease provided that each of the landlord and tenant would appoint an appraiser who, if they could not agree as to fair market rent, would appoint a third appraiser to determine fair market rent.