Hadian v. Schwartz

Hadian (plaintiff) leased commercial property to Schwartz (defendant) for three years with a five-year renewal option; the parties struck the lease's code-compliance and repair warranties and instead had Schwartz cover only tax increases and comply with laws regulating his use of the property. After Schwartz renewed, the city required costly seismic reconstruction of the building under a hazard-reduction program enacted before the lease was signed. Hadian paid over $34,000 for the work and sued Schwartz to recover the cost when he refused to indemnify her. The trial court and Court of Appeal both ruled for Hadian.