The applicant tenant, a Black-owned restaurant, missed the deadline to provide written notice to renew its commercial lease.
The tenant made numerous attempts to contact the landlord, which were ignored.
The landlord subsequently attempted to terminate the overholding tenancy, citing a preference for 'family-oriented' businesses and making racially coded complaints about the tenant's clientele.
The court granted the tenant's application for relief from forfeiture and an injunction against eviction, finding that the tenant had acted in good faith, the landlord suffered no prejudice, and terminating the lease would give force to the landlord's unconscious biases.