J. HAMILTON COLEMAN, DEAN A. FLOWERS, JOHN D. WARD AND CURTIS WHITEHEAD, APPELLANTS, v. ROTANA, INC. (N.V.) AND ROTANA LTD., APPELLEES, 778 S.W.2d 867

Summary

Appellant tenants executed a commercial lease with appellee landlord to operate a restaurant; the lease designated the parking lot as a common area that appellants shared with other tenants. The other tenants repeatedly violated the parking code, and approximately half of appellants' parking spaces were regularly inaccessible to appellants' patrons. When appellants were unsuccessful in negotiating a sublease with appellee, appellee filed suit for rent and attorney fees. The court affirmed the judgment. The trial court did not err in refusing to submit appellants' question whether appellee breached the implied warranty of suitability. First, inadequate parking caused by the cotenants' improper use of their premises was not the kind of defect covered by the implied warranty of suitability. Second, appellants had expressly contracted for the nonexclusive use of the parking area. The trial court also did not err in refusing to submit appellants' question whether appellee had breached the ...