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plugubius t1_irjmqng wrote

Reply to comment by ankelbiter12 in Pot twist: Cannabis firm refuses federal judge's ruling because its business isn't legal under federal law by Doc_Dante

IAAL. There is no prohibition on leasing space to Vito Corleone, even if you know who Vito Corleone is. If you know about a murder he commits, you can be charged in connection with that, but the lease is still valid, and he still owes you rent.

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Sumthin-Sumthin44692 t1_irjorhy wrote

There is. A landlord can be held liable for conspiracy if they know crimes are taking place on their property. This comes up with so-called “crystal palaces” where motel owner knowingly rent rooms to meth users and prostitutes

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plugubius t1_irjs909 wrote

>A landlord can be held liable for conspiracy if they know crimes are taking place on their property.

I agree, and I said as much. That potential liability is different from whether the lease contract is enforceable.

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Sumthin-Sumthin44692 t1_irjwei1 wrote

A landlord renting a unit for an illegal purpose can be criminally liable as a co-conspirator. The lease is also void so they won’t be entitled to contractual rent. A court could order some payment to the landlord based on equitable principles but the doctrine of unclean hands and public policy considerations would most likely bar or limit recovery.

Bottom line: landlords, don’t lease out space for criminal activity.

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CaptainTripps82 t1_irjnf5l wrote

I was just thinking, the basis for a lot of mob arrests in the past was that even if the underlying business is illegal, you still owe taxes on the income.

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crwlngkngsnk t1_irjueo4 wrote

But you can't rent out a murder room, with the explicit understanding that this is his murder room, to be used for murdering people.
I think, like another poster said, that it might depend on if the lease spells out the purpose of the business. If the nature of the business is known and illegal then Federal law isn't going to enforce a contract for that. I don't know enough about the law to know if this case is heard under Illinois law, but I do know that Federal courts sometimes evaluate cases under State law, so you might be right about that. I guess it depends on the issues raised in the suit. I haven't actually, you know, read anything about the case.

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