Hospitable (and Habitable) Shops for Lease?

You are the national franchise location manager for a chain of upscale home furnishings boutiques called The Lavish Lair. Your corporation recently opened locations throughout the Midwest. Although you were initially very pleased with the property management group that leases 10 locations to your company in central Missouri - Hospitable Shops LLC - the reports that you have been receiving from store managers in 6 out of 10 Missouri locations have been troubling.

- One location reported that the toilets in the employee restrooms have been periodically overflowing for no reason on a near-weekly basis, leaving water damage and restroom facilities that are often out-of-commission for days at a time. Hospitable Shops LLC has responded; not by sending a plumber, but by advising The Lavish Lair's management that the toilets were fully operational and any defects were due to "employee misuse." Hospitable Shops LLC has advised the store managers that The Lavish Lair will be responsible to pay for any water and plumbing remediation.

- Three locations have reported a lingering chemical smell believed to be related to the store's new electrical wiring system. Representatives from Hospitable Shops LLC have visited the locations and denied the chemical smell, even though there have been numerous documented complaints from employees and customers.

- Two other locations apart from the locations mentioned above have documented rodent infestations that have migrated to the sales floor, creating quite a commotion during store hours.

memo legal counsel, Lyle Luxor, about how to advise your store managers to proceed.