Caruso is suing an old the Commons at Calabasas tenant.
Rick Caruso’s outfit claims the tenant, which appears to be Fresh Brothers, a pizza place, didn’t pay its rent and owes $38,000. The shop’s lease expired, and it moved out — but Caruso still wants his money, plus interest, attorney fees, cost of suit and more, per the July complaint.
Neither representatives for Caruso nor Fresh Brothers immediately responded to a request for comment.
Los Angeles landlords are not playing around lately … they’re clawing for their rent money, but their tenants aren’t coughing it up. Another case in point:
Michael Hackman’s Hackman Capital Partners sued Erewhon, its luxe grocer tenant at Culver Steps. THe developer claims it is owed more than $275,000 in rent. Erewhon previously disputed the claims, said it paid what it owed under protest and asked the court to appoint a certified public accountant to handle the situation.
The latest: Erewhon countersued, denying each and every allegation. Its defense is dense, but basically Erewhon claims common area maintenance costs (considered additional rent) were calculated incorrectly; Hackman went rogue taking the matter to court instead of a CPA, which is what Erewhon wants; and there are issues with parking and valet, which are hurting Erewhon’s business.
The grocer known for $20 smoothies and celeb shoppers accuses Hackman of misleading and omitting details on parking, valet and CAM costs prior to inking a deal.
Erewhon mentioned Hackman’s distress, too — perhaps a low blow. In any case, the chain said because of the defaults, potential foreclosures and lender takeovers, any money that comes out of Hackman’s lawsuit may just fall in the hands of lenders.
Hackman and Erewhon representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
California’s corporate exodus, Los Angeles’ production exodus
It was recently reported that Paramount is considering leaving California because the Golden State was said to be preparing a lawsuit to derail the planned $111 billion takeover of Warner Bros.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta led a coalition of fellow top legal officers from 12 states in filing a lawsuit to block the merger.
It is way too early to sound the alarm, but losing the Ellisons would not be great for California. (David Ellison’s dad, Larry Ellison, moved Oracle out of California. His was one of many tech companies to dip out. In the world of real estate, CBRE, Public Storage and more have left).
But if Paramount left California, it would be more than a headquarters move, it’d be another hit to Hollywood. Can studio owners take another big loss in Tinseltown?
On a related — sort of — note. J.J Abrams’ production company, Bad Robot, left California altogether, decamping to New York after it sold the Santa Monica creative offices it called home. Abrams and his wife Katie McGrath, who are co-CEOs of Bad Robot, which helped make “Lost,” donated to Xavier Becerra. The two each donated $39,200 to Becerra’s California governor campaign. Bad Robot did not immediately respond to a request.
Betting on Becerra
Speaking of Becerra and his backers … Rick Caruso, Jeff Worthe and Kilroy each donated $39,200 to his campaign. Caruso was a Matt Mahan man, and doled out more than a million dollars on his run, though Mahan didn’t make it past the June primary. Kilroy CEO Angela Aman was part of the Los Angeles real estate crew for Mahan, and she gave $10,000 pre-primary, so she’s upped the ante. Worthe of Worthe Real Estate Group backed Eric Swalwell before his campaign (and political career, potentially) ended in a scandal of alleged sexual misconduct.
Studio slashed
Speaking of studio slumps … The owner of Occidental Studios’ Main Lot lowered its price tag. The studio lot, where “New Girl” scenes were filmed, came on the market last summer with a $45 million ask. Now Occidental Entertainment Group Holdings is shopping the production campus for $25 million.
Chair and CEO Craig Darian told TRD: “Market forces, diminished production and the hyper-speed trajectory of technology are affecting the value of sound stages — especially in Los Angeles … That said, we’re a privately-held company with no urgency to sell, but for a successor operator that values this legacy asset, we’ll evaluate a sale and the terms thereof.”
Slatkins vs special servicer
A $280 million loan on the Slatkin brothers’ Casa del Mar and Shutters on the Beach was sent to special servicing, and the hotelier brothers, Edward and Thomas Slatkin, aren’t having it. “The current matter involves a disagreement regarding one of the loan’s extension provisions. We believe the special servicer has taken an unnecessarily aggressive position, despite the hotels’ strong financial performance and compliance with their obligations under the loan,” Thomas said in a statement to TRD.