Lindner v. Meadow Gold Dairies, Inc.

Jeffrey Lindner (plaintiff) leased Kauai property to Meadow Gold Dairies, Inc. (defendant) for a dairy farm operation in 1988, and Meadow Gold exercised a 15-year renewal option in 1997 under a lease requiring it to pay up to five years' present value of future rent as liquidated damages for early termination; Meadow Gold later assigned its lease interests to Southern Food Group, L.P. (defendant) while retaining liability. Shortly before the renewal, a downstream parcel was purchased and developed into a home for entertainment executive Peter Guber, who complained of raw sewage and water contamination from the dairy farm and threatened a Clean Water Act lawsuit; Meadow Gold then closed the farm and terminated the lease roughly 13 years early without paying the liquidated damages. Lindner sued for breach of contract and moved for summary judgment.