CBCA 6644

DENIED: January 26, 2022 CBCA 6644 IEYADA M. AHRIR, Appellant, v. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Respondent. Simon Croft Sigler of MDK Business Law, Ottowa, ON, counsel for Appellant. Kevin M. Gleeson and Erin M. Kriynovich, Office of the Legal Adviser, Buildings and Acquisitions, Department of State, Arlington, VA, counsel for Respondent. Before Board Judges GOODMAN, DRUMMOND, and SHERIDAN. DRUMMOND, Board Judge. This case, between Ieyada M. Ahrir (appellant/landlord) and the Department of State (respondent/tenant), concerns appellant’s claim for damage to leased property. The parties submitted this appeal on the written record pursuant to Board Rule 19 (48 CFR 6101.19 (2020)). Background In 2009, respondent and Bashir Bashir Ahrir entered into a lease for property to be used by respondent’s diplomatic mission in Tripoli, Libya. The lease term was a fixed nine years, ending on August 31, 2018. With an effective date of April 25, 2012, a lease CBCA 6644 2 amendment formally recognized Ieyada M. Ahrir as the contractor/lessor, following the death of her husband. Article eight of the lease, titled “Tenant Rights and Responsibilities,” states in part: A. . . . The Tenant, if required by the Landlord, shall restore the premises to the same condition as that existing at the time of entering upon the same under this Lease, except for reasonable and ordinary wear and tear, damage by elements, or by circumstances over which the Tenant has no control. . . . B. The Tenant shall, unless specified to the contrary, maintain the said premises in good repair and tenantable condition . . . during the continuance of this lease, except for reasonable and ordinary wear and tear, damage by the elements, or other circumstances not under the Tenant’s control. Article eleven, titled “Insurance,” states, in part: A. The Landlord shall bear responsibility for all risks of loss of or damage to the Premises, for the entire term of this Lease, arising from any causes whatsoever, other than Tenant fault, including but not limited to fire; lightning; storm; tempest; explosion; riot; civil commotion; malicious or criminal acts of destruction . . . . B. The Landlord shall adequately insure the property against fire and all other risks enumerated above and normally insured under standard coverage . . . . Article fourteen of the lease, “Termination,” states, in part, “The tenant may, for its convenience, terminate this Lease in whole or in part at any time, if it determines that such termination is in the best interests of the Tenant . . . .” The lease included no language requiring respondent to occupy the property continuously nor did it require respondent to notify appellant if it was not occupying the property. In July 2014, due to escalating civil unrest, respondent ceased all operations and evacuated all personnel, including security personnel, from the property in Tripoli. It is undisputed that respondent’s withdrawal from Libya was a highly publicized event. Following the evacuation in July 2014, global news outlets reported that U.S. diplomatic sites CBCA 6644 3 in Tripoli were overtaken and looted by militia groups in what was referred to as the Libyan Civil War. It is also undisputed that, although respondent did not directly provide notice of its withdrawal to appellant either before or after evacuating the property, it continued to pay rent after it left, and appellant has been paid all rent owed under the lease. Respondent did not return to the property, and in June 2018, the parties executed a Termination and Acquittance agreement (termination agreement), which expressly states that “the Lease . . .