Opinion
No. 76 B 2900
February 13, 1979
Bankruptcy Proceedings Title to Property — Termination of Lease — Waiver
The simple fact that the landlord of a tenant undergoing a Chapter XI proceeding continued to receive several rent payments after the proceeding was commenced does not, in and of itself, constitute a waiver of his contractual right to terminate the lease in the event of the tenant's bankruptcy. In order to waive a breach, one must know of the breach. It is clear, from the evidence adduced at the hearing, that the landlord was not notified, in any matter, of the now bankrupt's filing. Constructive knowledge could not be imputed to the landlord, since he had no duty to seek out the relevant facts here, nor did the bankruptcy proceedings appear in any of the landlord's records during the period in question.
Waiver cannot also be discovered by the fact that no formal notice of termination was served by the landlord upon the trustee until almost two months after the landlord was finally notified of the bankrupt's adjudication. The landlord's prior, informal notice of termination substantially complied with the terms of the lease. See Sec. 70b [§ 365] at ¶ 9512.