The Waffle, LLC v. Tucker Investment Group, LLC (Westwood Restaurant Lease Arbitration Affirmed)

Commercial Lease Disputes Ruling Issued
Date
October 19, 2026
Added to tracker
October 20, 2026
Court or forum
California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division Seven (Los Angeles County Superior Court No. SC129215)
State
California
Presiding judge
Mark H. Epstein
Property type
Retail
Amount / scale
Undisclosed arbitration award and attorneys' fees for TIG as prevailing party
Parties
Plaintiff/Appellant: The Waffle, LLCDefendant/Respondent: Tucker Investment Group, LLCDefendant: Coastline Construction Management, Inc.

The California Court of Appeal affirmed a trial court judgment confirming a binding arbitration award in favor of landlord Tucker Investment Group, LLC in a long-running lease dispute with restaurant tenant The Waffle, LLC over a 3,000-gallon grease interceptor the landlord was obligated to install. The Waffle had sued for fraud, negligent misrepresentation, breach of contract and rescission after the interceptor wasn't installed on the timeline it expected; after a bench trial ruling for TIG on the contract claim and a mistrial on the fraud claims, the parties stipulated to binding arbitration, which TIG also won.

Why it matters

The decision shows how narrowly California courts will review an arbitration award once parties stipulate to binding arbitration with an appellate-rights waiver, and how a lease's own cure-period language for landlord obligations can decide a breach claim well before any arbitration begins. Commercial landlords and tenants negotiating tenant-improvement or construction work-letter obligations should take note of how much weight a 'reasonable time' cure provision can carry in later litigation.

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A California appeals court has affirmed a trial court judgment confirming an arbitration award in favor of a Los Angeles landlord in a years-long commercial lease dispute that began with a disagreement over a 3,000-gallon grease interceptor and ended in a fraud trial, a jury mistrial, and binding arbitration. The case, The Waffle, LLC v. Tucker Investment Group, LLC, decided October 19, 2026 by the California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division Seven, shows how far courts will defer to arbitrators once commercial parties agree to arbitrate a lease dispute.

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