From the Sears case (wish I could figure out how to link a PDF file)
"Sears, Roebuck has a lease with Forbes/Cohen for a store within the Gardens Mall. It attempted to sublease part of its store to Dick’s Sporting Goods. However, the landlord disapproved of the sublease and collaborated with the City of Palm Beach Gardens, unbeknownst to Sears, to enact a resolution to now require both the landlord and the City to agree to any subdivision of space within the Gardens Mall. The issues presented in this case are whether the City’s resolution unconstitutionally impairs Sears’s contract rights and whether that resolution violates substantive due process because it has no criteria stating when approval to subdivide Sears’s leased space may be granted or denied. As a related issue, we consider whether Sears is owed attorney’s fees as a result of the City’s alleged violation of substantive due process. Finally, we consider whether Sears has a contractual right to sublease."
Sound familiar?
"We conclude the City’s resolution is unconstitutional both because it impairs Sears’s right to contract—and the contract rights emanating from the lease between Sears and Forbes/Cohen—and deprives Sears of its substantive due process rights. Consequently, we find Sears is a prevailing party under 42 U.S.C. sections 1983 and 1988 and is owed attorney’s fees. We further conclude that Sears has the contractual right to sublease without authorization from Forbes."