Cordonier

The Happy Steak, Inc. (hereinafter referred to as franchisor) and Larry D. and Mary S. Cordonier, husband and wife (hereinafter referred to collectively as Cordonier) appeal from a judgment of dismissal as to defendant Central Shopping Plaza Associates (hereinafter referred to as Plaza) entered by the trial court after the general demurrer of Plaza to plaintiffs’ complaint for damages for breach of a lease was sustained without leave to amend.

Facts

The complaint which seeks damages for breach of lease alleges, in substance, the following facts: That franchisor is a California corporation that franchises restaurants; that Cordonier as franchisee engaged in business in Camarillo, California, under the fictitious name “The Happy Steak”; that franchisor on January 24, 1971, entered into a written 20-year lease for approximately 3,410 square feet of space in Plaza with E. J. Friedman Company, Inc. (hereinafter referred to as Friedman) for the purpose of operating a “Happy Steak” restaurant; that on or about April 7, 1976, Friedman sold Plaza to defendant Washington Mutual Savings Bank (hereinafter referred to as Washington) and assigned to Washington its landlord’s interest…