T.H. PROPERTIES, an Arizona general partnership, Plaintiff/Appellee, v. SUNSHINE AUTO RENTAL, INC., an Arizona Corporation, Defendant/Appellant, 151 Ariz. 444

Summary

The court affirmed the trial court's judgment in favor of the landlord, holding that the landlord did not waive its right to forfeiture of the lease by retaining and later cashing a cashier's check for unpaid rent. The trial court had broad discretion to allow the landlord to reopen his case to prove assignment of the lease. Although the landlord had previously accepted late payments, the letter giving the tenant three days to cure the default acted as a reinstatement of the time of the essence provision. The court modified the judgment as to the award of unpaid taxes because Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 12-1178(A) only allowed damages in the form of unpaid rent. The landlord was not entitled to attorney fees under the lease or Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 12-341.01(A) because the tenant succeeded in reducing the amount of the judgment.