Carr-Gottstein Foods Co. and Safeway, Inc. v. Wasilla, LLC, d/b/a Wasilla Shopping Center, LLC

Summary

The Supreme Court of Alaska held that a landlord waived its right to claim that a supermarket tenant breached lease use and sublease provisions by relocating a liquor store onto the supermarket premises. The court concluded that the landlord had knowledge of and assisted with the relocation, failed to object for approximately six years, and engaged in conduct inconsistent with later asserting a breach. The judgment was reversed and the case remanded.

Holdings

1. A landlord's knowledge of an alleged lease breach, assistance with and acquiescence in the tenant's conduct, failure to object for an extended period, and conduct indicating that no default existed constituted implied waiver as a matter of law of the right to claim that the relocation breached the use and sublease clauses.
2. The non-waiver clause preserved the landlord's right to insist on strict performance for future breaches but did not prevent waiver of the landlord's right to claim a default arising from the relocation that had already occurred.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the landlord waived its right to assert that relocating the liquor store breached the lease's use and sublease clauses.
2. Whether the lease's non-waiver clause prevented waiver of the landlord's claims concerning the completed relocation.
3. Whether the superior court's judgment awarding damages and attorney's fees should stand in light of the waiver ruling.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded