Plaintiff Ms. Ma purchased the property in question from XX Company in April 2011. Since the company had signed a five-year lease agreement with defendant Zhonghai Investment Management Co., Ltd. in July 2010, under the principle of "sale does not break lease," Plaintiff Ms. Ma succeeded to the rights and obligations of the original lessor, XX Company, including the low rent level formed due to historical reasons. However, defendant Zhonghai Investment Management Co., Ltd. acted in bad faith, repeatedly delaying rent payments. Plaintiff Ms. Ma sought to terminate the contract and, in early 2012, retained Zhiming Law Firm, engaging Director Attorney Wang Tengfeng and Attorney Cao Guanghui as litigation representatives to sue the powerful Zhonghai Investment Management Co., Ltd.

At the outset of the lawsuit, the defendant repeatedly corresponded with the plaintiff over issues such as invoices, attempting to extract favorable litigation evidence. Under the proper guidance of the plaintiff's attorneys, the defendant ultimately gained nothing. During the first-instance trial, the defendant argued against contract termination on grounds such as substantial investment in renovations and that the breach did not warrant termination, but the court rejected these arguments and ruled in favor of Plaintiff Ms. Ma. The defendant appealed, raising further arguments in the second instance, including claims about standard-form contracts and that continued performance would better maintain contractual stability. In response, the plaintiff's attorneys pointed out that the plaintiff was exercising a contractual right to terminate, not a statutory one, and that conditions for contractual termination could be less stringent than statutory conditions. The contract should be strictly observed. In this case, the defendant's overdue rent payments were clearly evidenced and fully met the contractual conditions for termination, so the contract should be lawfully terminated, and the defendant should bear the losses caused by its own breach. In October 2012, the second-instance court ultimately upheld the first-instance judgment, supporting Plaintiff Ms. Ma's claims: termination of the contract, forfeiture of the lease deposit, and return of the property.

Through high-quality and efficient litigation services and vigorous courtroom arguments, Director Attorney Wang Tengfeng and Attorney Cao Guanghui not only protected the client's legitimate rights and interests but also contributed to educating the public on adhering to contracts.

Zhiming Office