Who Pays to Clear a Warehouse After a Bankrupt Tenant Rejects the Lease?
American Tire Distributors left forklifts, racks, and a 55-gallon drum of hazardous material in two Carolina distribution centers. The landlord spent almost $125,000 clearing them out and asked the bankruptcy estate to pay it as an administrative expense. A Delaware judge said the bill is a general unsecured claim, because a return-condition obligation is a rejection damages claim no matter when the tenant walked out.