LTL Commercial v. Hammer IRP LTL Assoc. CA2/2

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

I. Facts

A. The Building in Little Tokyo The building at issue in this case is a six-story building located on South San Pedro Street, on the edge of Little Tokyo in downtown Los Angeles. Built in the 1920’s, it was put to industrial use until 2001. At that time, its then-current owner converted all but the first floor to apartments. Defendant Hammer IRP LTL Associates (the developer) acquired the building in 2005, and did some “cosmetic work” on the building’s interior in the process of converting the apartments on the second through sixth floors into 161 condominiums. The building is now referred to as the Little Tokyo Lofts building. B. The Mutual Benefit Agreement (MBA) Anticipating that the first-floor commercial space would be sold to a different owner than the condos on the upper floors, the developer in 2006 entered into a Mutual Benefit Agreement (MBA) with the condo owners’ residential association to delineate the rights and responsibilities of the various owners of the now, mixed-used building. The MBA divides the building into a “Commercial Area” and a “Residential Area,” and defines the maintenance duties (1) for the…