PrintMost retail leases have a “CAM” provision and though they are formulated in a myriad of way, a common element can be found in the way “common area maintenance” (CAM or Operating Expenses) is defined. The words used are seen so often that many eyes glaze right over them. They are so familiar that, long ago, we stopped thinking about them. This occurred to Ruminations as we read an unpublished February 19 decision from the Court of Appeals of Arizona (an “intermediate” appellate court). Here’s what that court told us. A bunch of shopping center tenants, as a group, sued their common landlord over a Common Area Maintenance (CAM) billing for capital expenses. Exactly what is a capital expense? There are too many definitions used for a “capital expense,” and even the Internal Revenue Code doesn’t provide much help because its “definition,” if you can call it that, relies on some principles. Here is what…
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