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Let’s say you own a ranch and, to make some extra cash, you sell the rights to extract oil, coal and other minerals that might lie under your land. Then you do some digging, and uncover a fossilized dinosaur skeleton.

Many property owners and tenants today are wondering about the legal implications of the Covid-19 virus on leases and real estate contracts. These issues can be complex, often involving paragraphs of dense legalese. Valensi Rose has prepared this plain-English summary of key areas in which the pandemic (and government efforts to deal with it) may affect leases and real estate contracts.

If you are trying to figure out a fair rent for a Saks Fifth Avenue store in San Francisco, wouldn’t it make sense to take a look at other Saks stores, including the retailer’s flagship location in New York City?

A proposed California law moving rapidly through the legislature aims to aid restaurants, bars, entertainment venues affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. But it would be devastating to the commercial landlords who provide their retail space.

It may be true that good fences may make good neighbors, as the poet Robert Frost declared. But a bad fence, a shared driveway and disgruntled neighbors can be a recipe for litigation, as a recent appellate court decision demonstrates.

Whatever kind of business you are in – manufacturing, retail, entertainment or anything else – operating as a corporation can provide you with important legal and tax advantages. But failing to do a simple task once a year can put at risk these benefits and, potentially, everything else you own.