Berg v. Wiley

Rodney Wiley (defendant) leased a building to run a restaurant, with the lease letting him re-enter if terms were violated; the lease interest was assigned to Kathleen Berg (plaintiff), who ran the restaurant. After Wiley accused Berg of unauthorized remodeling and health-code violations and threatened to retake the building, Berg closed for renovations and posted a sign; that same day Wiley tried to change the locks but was stopped, later called police fearing Berg was damaging the property, and the following Monday succeeded in changing the locks and locking Berg out, even though the lease term had years left to run. Berg sued for wrongful eviction; the jury found the lockout unlawful and that Berg had neither abandoned nor surrendered the property, and Wiley appealed.