Boulevard Associates v. Sovereign Hotels, Inc.

CALABRESI, Circuit Judge:

The legal relationship between landlords and tenants is a strange hybrid of contract and property law. When a tenant fails to pay rent, Connecticut law, recognizing the hybrid, allows the landlord to choose either a contract remedy or a property remedy — but does not permit both. The landlord can terminate the lease and sue for damages based on the contract relationship. Or, the landlord can opt to maintain the lease and, based on the property relationship, demand back rent.

In this case, defendant Sovereign Hotels, Inc. (“Sovereign”) stopped paying rent to its…