Salha and Abu Ali Cafe v. 2020 Harwin 59 Shopping Centers (Restaurant Lease Repair and Sublease Dispute)

The Texas Court of Appeals for the First District affirmed summary judgment for a Harwin-area Houston shopping center ownership group against a restaurant tenant's claims for breach of lease, fraud, DTPA violations and quantum meruit over disputed repair costs and a refused sublease. The court held the tenant's own lease terms assigned electrical, plumbing and HVAC maintenance to the tenant, that the tenant never gave the written notice the lease required before claiming a roof-repair default, that an oral sublease-consent promise was unenforceable under the statute of frauds, and that the lease's $522,000 total consideration exceeded the threshold exempting the transaction from the DTPA. The trial court's $23,580 trial and $15,000 appellate attorney's fee awards to the landlord were also affirmed.

Why it matters

The ruling shows how literally Texas courts enforce lease maintenance-allocation clauses and written-notice preconditions, leaving tenants without a breach claim even for genuinely needed repairs if the lease assigns that system to the tenant or the tenant skipped a notice requirement. It also flags an easily overlooked DTPA trap for longer-term, higher-rent commercial leases: crossing the $500,000 total-consideration threshold strips a tenant of DTPA protection regardless of the parties' relative sophistication.

Case timeline · 3 entries Latest: October 16, 2026 — Court of Appeals affirms summary judgment and attorney's fee awards for the landlord

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