Legal Eagles: The Legal Battles Proliferating During The Pandemic

Luise A. Barrack, Head of Litigation at R&E, was invited to speak on an episode of The Real Deal’s live TRD Talks. She and Jonathan Mechanic of Fried Frank shared insights into the legal challenges presented by COVID-19 over a discussion called, “Legal Eagles: The Legal Battles Proliferating During The Pandemic.”

TRD editor Erik Engquist guided the discussion with questions about the conflicts between commercial owners and tenants, when rent is not being paid as a result of COVID-19. Luise explained the intricacies of representing owners and developers in the midst of a pandemic, and she challenged policies like frustration of purpose under these circumstances: “Contracts require, and the world requires, certainty in terms of entering into contracts to be able to rely upon what it is that parties agreed to… It’s not as if the owners did something that resulted in the shutdown of this business. The owners are as much in the line of fire from the government directives as are the tenants here.”