Busby Family, LLC v. Zervos CA4/3

INTRODUCTION

Following heavy rainfall, water seeped through the ceiling of a building under lease for use as a restaurant and caused significant damage to the kitchen area. The culprit was the condition of the 37-year-old roof, which had a useful life, at most, of 25 years, and a questionable maintenance record. When the rains came, a plastic membrane was being installed over the roof structure, but work had stalled because the landlords and the tenant could not reach an agreement about which was responsible for disassembling and removing various items of equipment and debris from the roof to permit the roofing work to be completed. And life being what it is the rainwater leaked into the building through the very section of the roof over which the membrane had not been installed. This appeal centers on the rights and duties of the parties to that lease with regard to making repairs to the interior of the building, maintaining and repairing the roof, completing the roofing work or replacing the aging roof, and disassembling and removing the equipment on the roof. The landlords are Busby Family, LLC (Busby Family), Goldenwest/Edinger, L.P. (Goldenwest), and The Frank M. and…