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Shaker and Associates6/30/2000
The plaintiff gave the defendant a five-year lease from February 1, 1994, through January 31, 1999, for commercial office space in an office building occupied by numerous tenants. The defendant alleges that once it took possession of the premises it encountered a variety of defects in the building that ultimately rendered the space unusable for its business. The defendant stopped paying rent in September 1994. The plaintiff filed a forcible detainer action on September 26, 1994, but the defendant surrendered possession on December 20, 1994, before the date of the trial.
On December 6, 1994, the plaintiff filed this action seeking all rents until the end of the lease as well as attorney fees. The defendant pled various affirmative defenses and also counterclaimed alleging breach of the lease, fraud and negligence. After the defendant twice amended the counterclaims and affirmative defenses, the trial court dismissed them. On October 7, 1998, the court granted summary judgment for the plaintiff, awarding rents from the time the defendants stopped paying until the time that the plaintiff was able to relet the premises. The court also awarded attorney fees.
The defendant appeals the trial court's summary judgment award of lost rents and attorney fees and the dismissal of its counterclaims. The defendant argues that the court erred: (1) in interpreting the lease so as not to include a duty to repair the alleged defects; (2) in dismissing the defendant's counterclaims and affirmative defenses relating to constructive eviction; and (3) in its assessment of damages, particularly the inclusion of lost rents after the defendant quit the premises.
We affirm.
BACKGROUND
The defendant, Medical Technologies Group, Limited (Medtech), is in the business of reviewing claims for medical benefits. On November 30, 1993, Medtech entered into a five-year lease from February 1, 1994, through January 31, 1999, with the plaintiff, Shaker & Associates, Inc., doing business as Shaker Management Company (Shaker), for commercial office space in Oak Park. The premises were located in an office building shared by numerous tenants. The rent was $4,465 per month. As agreed to under the lease, Shaker built out the premises and made certain improvements in order to make them suitable for Medtech's business. Medtech took possession in mid-January 1994.
Shaker alleges that Medtech was consistently late in its rent payments. In September 1994, Medtech stopped paying rent altogether. Shaker then served Medtech with a five-day notice and filed a forcible detainer action on September 26, 1994. Medtech vacated the premises on December 20, 1994, shortly before the trial date.
On December 6, 1994, Shaker filed this suit seeking to collect all rents until the end of the lease as well as attorney fees. Shaker also named Anne Gose, Medtech's chief executive officer, and Ralph Menezes, another officer of Medtech, as defendants, alleging that they had guaranteed the lease. Shaker found a new tenant for the premises starting on February 1, 1997.
Medtech filed a countercomplaint and affirmative defenses on February 14, 1995. Medtech alleged that from the beginning of its occupancy it encountered various defects in the building, which eventually made it unable to continue its business there. In particular, Medtech alleged that Shaker did not provide adequate air conditioning in the summer or heat in the winter. According to Medtech, this problem caused Gose to be hospitalized for heat exhaustion on July 14, 1994, caused one employee to quit and made various other employees ill, and forced the office to be closed on at least one afternoon. Medtech also alle
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