In the world of complex commercial leases, with the multitude of “additional rent” charges and escalation packages, it is not uncommon for there to be errors in the billing and collection of these varied obligations. Fertile ground exists for erroneous billings for consumer price index adjustments, porter’s wage escalations, common area maintenance charges, real estate taxes, and utility charges, just to name a few, and those mistakes can result in significant overcharges to the unsuspecting or dilatory tenant or significant underpayments to the unaware landlord.
Tenants and landlords alike must therefore be vigilant, lest they be deemed to have waived any right to recovery of wrongful payments. With respect to overpayments in particular, a lack of vigilance can prove fatal to any chance of recovery in light of the voluntary payment doctrine, a common law doctrine that bars recovery of such overpayments.
Illustration of the Doctrine
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