Helmut Jahn-owned firm’s bankruptcy filing stemmed from $171,000 rent dispute

The late architect Helmut Jahn’s firm filed for bankruptcy protection in a bid to erase $171,000 of unpaid rent, a recent hearing revealed.

Jahn LLC’s filing on Aug. 13 to liquidate under Chapter 7 of the U.S. bankruptcy code turned out to be a legal maneuver, not a reflection of financial trouble at Jahn’s business, Crain’s reported.

When Jahn LLC filed, the company faced questions about its relationship with Jahn Architecture and the company’s financial condition. Jahn died in a cycling accident in May at the age of 81 and he hasn’t been replaced.

DUS Management, the property manager for Jahn LLC, said that company held the lease for Jahn Architecture, at 35 East Wacker Drive. The filing aimed to resolve the dispute with DUS.

Filings showed that DUS sued the company for $170,643 in unpaid rent. Jahn LLC’s bankruptcy attorney, meantime, insisted the company wasn’t linked to Jahn Architecture.

However, a September hearing that featured testimony from the chief financial officer of Jahn Architecture revealed that the two companies were closely linked.

“They may be two separate companies, but they really are acting as a single entity in many ways,” bankruptcy trustee David Leibowitz wrote in a text message, according to Crain’s. “No need to dwell on it, in that Jahn and the landlord have settled.”

Terms of the settlement weren’t disclosed. A motion to miss the case, filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Chicago, said the two parties will pay Leibowitz $42,000 for his role in the case. Jahn LLC will shoulder $12,500 and DUC will pay the rest.