Grebow

In this landlord-tenant dispute, the landlord seeks a judgment against a wife solely on the basis her husband personally guaranteed the obligations of the tenant under the lease. The trial court granted judgment to the wife on the grounds the landlord did not, and could not, state a cause of action against her. We affirm.

Facts and Proceedings Below

The facts are not in dispute.

Plaintiff, 11601 Wilshire Associates (Associates), leased office space to the law corporation of Grebow & Barish. Arthur Grebow and Kenneth Barish each signed a personal guaranty of the lease.

Several years later Associates brought an action for breach of the lease, naming as defendants the law firm of Grebow & Barish as well as Grebow and Barish personally and Does 1-50. The first amended complaint alleged each Doe defendant was, among other things, the “duly wedded spouse of each of [the] co-defendants.” The complaint included a cause of action against Grebow and “Does 15-20” alleging Grebow was obligated to Associates for all damages it suffered as a result of the law firm’s breach of the lease. Associates subsequently filed an amendment to the complaint naming Helen Grebow, the wife of…