Tenant's Right of First Refusal Against Subsequent Purchaser

A property owner, having leased premises to a commercial tenant under a lease containing an option to purchase, subsequently sold the property to a third party without notifying the tenant of the sale or offering the property to the tenant pursuant to the lease's right of first refusal, leading the tenant to seek enforcement of the option to purchase against the new owner. The court ruled that the original seller's failure to notify the tenant of the sale or offer the property to the tenant invalidated the subsequent sale regarding the tenant's rights under the lease, thus upholding the tenant's claim to enforce the option to purchase against the purchaser, as the right of first refusal was opposable to the new owner.