MGP IX Properties v. Towfix CA4/2

I.

INTRODUCTION

Pro. per. defendant and appellant Ahmad Towfik dba Arraml Café entered into a

five-year lease agreement with plaintiff and respondent MGP IX Properties, LLC, for

commercial retail space in a shopping center. Towfik vacated the premises before the

lease expired, so MGP sued him for breach of contract. After a bench trial, the trial court

found Towfik breached the agreement, awarded MGP about $75,500 in damages, and

entered judgment for MGP. Towfik appeals, and we affirm.

II.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

In July 2017, Towfik signed a 60-month lease with MGP to rent a retail space

where he operated a café. The lease began in October 2017 and was scheduled to end in

October 2022. Towfik, however, stopped paying rent in the fall of 2019 and vacated the

premises in January 2020, and MGP did not have a new tenant for the space until June

2021.

MGP thus sued Towfik for breach of contract, seeking over $100,000 in damages

for unpaid rent, rent owed for the remainder of the lease, and other expenses. Towfik

answered the complaint with a general denial without any affirmative defenses.

Without any other significant proceedings, the case went to a bench…