Munich Regional Court I has ruled that the film operator GmbH (defendant) must vacate and surrender a cinema in the center of Munich (case no. 34 O 7322/20). The decision is based on the lease agreement from 1956, which was transferred to the defendant in 2006. The cinema in question is part of a property owned by a fractional community. The plaintiff owns 80 percent of the co-ownership share.
After more than 90 percent of the persons with co-ownership shares approved the termination of the lease in 2019, the plaintiff terminated the contract as of June 30, 2020. However, the defendant rejected the termination. Two co-lessees withdrew their consent to the termination two years later (i.e. in 2021), as they were allegedly not presented with all the facts. However, the district court ruled that the lease was effectively terminated on the specified date and emphasized that the rent was unusually low. Expert valuations showed that if the premises had been re-let as a cinema, significantly higher rents could have been achieved.
The regional court pointed out that the fractional owners or the lessor community have the right to change only the cinema operator without significantly changing the property. No decision was made on the permissibility of a different use of the property under monument protection law. Furthermore, the regional court was unable to understand the late withdrawal of consent by two co-lessors and therefore deemed it irrelevant. The judgment is not yet final.
Source: justiz.bayern.de/AZ: 34 O 7322/20
© Fotolia
