Blockbuster Investors LP v. Cox Enterprises Inc.

The defendant undertook to guarantee only the performance of the lease obligations of the original tenant named its guaranty agreement, so it was not liable as the guarantor of the lease obligations of a subsequent tenant under the lease.

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In this action for breach of a guaranty of a lease, landlord Blockbuster Investors LP “Investors” appeals from the trial court’s order dismissing Investors’ complaint against Cox Enterprises, Inc. “Cox”, and denying Investors’ motion for judgment on the pleadings. We conclude that the trial court correctly ruled that, under the unambiguous terms of the guaranty at issue, Cox undertook to guarantee only the performance of the lease obligations of the tenant named in the guaranty agreement; and therefore Cox was not liable as guarantor of the lease obligations of a subsequent tenant under the lease. Accordingly, we affirm. On appeal of a trial court’s dismissal of a complaint, our review is de novo.1 A motion to dismiss “should be granted only where a complaint shows with certainty that the plaintiff would not be entitled to relief under any state of facts that could be proven in support of his claim. We thus construe all the allegations in the complaint in a light most favorable to the complaining party and resolve all doubts in his favor.”2 Further, “a trial court may properly consider exhibits attached to and incorporated in the pleadings in considering a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim for relief.”3

A trial court’s dismissal of a claim for breach of contract is not error where the clear language of the contract attached to the plaintiff’s complaint demonstrates that the plaintiff’s claim fails as a matter of law.4

Blockbuster Investors LP v. Cox Enterprises Inc.

The defendant undertook to guarantee only the performance of the lease obligations of the original tenant named its guaranty agreement, so it was not liable as the guarantor of the lease obligations of a subsequent tenant under the lease.

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