But Was Simon Properties Delusional In Predicting COVID Recovery?
BY: STAFF REPORT | BocaNewsNow.com
BOCA RATON, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) (Copyright © 2022 MetroDesk Media, LLC) — Popular Boca Raton Town Center Mall store Pookie and Sebastian is being sued by Simon Properties for approximately $50,000 in back rent.
The dispute is part of an agreement that Simon made with Pookie and Sebastian — and, as we’ve reported, other stores — in an effort to speed a reopening after stores closed for COVID-19 in early 2020. Simon (NYSE: SPG), which manages malls nationwide, incentivized Pookie and Sebastian to “promptly open the Premises for business, within 15 days after landlord notifies Tenant that the Premises may re-open for business to the public.” In exchange for reopening quickly, Simon agreed to defer part of Pookie and Sebastian’s rent over several months.
But reopening in the midst of a pandemic doesn’t mean shoppers will come. And if there are no shoppers, there’s no way to pay rent. Simon alleges that Pookie and Sebastian owes between $30,001 and $50,000 according to the civil cover sheet filed with the suit. The suit does not specify the specific amount Pookie and Sebastian allegedly neglected to pay Simon properties.
Wrote Simon’s attorneys: “Tenant materially breached the terms of the Lease by failing to pay Rent, Additional Rent, or Sales Tax due under the Lease from November 2020 forward.”
Read the complete lawsuit, below.
