Newman v. Hinky Dinky Omaha-Lincoln, Inc.

Newman (plaintiff) leased property to American Community Stores Corporation (ACS), which operated a Hinky Dinky Omaha-Lincoln (defendant) supermarket there, under a lease that barred ACS from assigning or subletting without Newman's consent. ACS sought to assign the lease to a third party who would then sublease it back to Hinky, and negotiated with Newman for approval, but the negotiations failed. ACS proceeded with the assignment and sublease anyway, prompting Newman to sue for restitution of the property. The trial court granted Newman summary judgment on the theory that a landlord could withhold consent for any reason at all, and Hinky appealed, arguing consent could not be withheld unreasonably.