The legal battle between the theater production Sleep No More and its landlord, Centaur Properties, has taken a Shakespearean twist.
The drama began earlier this year when Centaur sued to evict the popular production — an immersive take on “Macbeth” — from the McKittrick Hotel in Chelsea. The landlord alleged the show’s permit expired over two years ago.
Sleep No More, through its entity PDNYC, fired back with its own lawsuit, accusing the landlord of flip-flopping on a previous agreement. The production company claimed that Centaur had agreed to amend the lease as the landlord neared financial ruin.
Now, Centaur is seeking to collect $4.5 million in back rent from Sleep No More’s guarantors, Arthur Karpati and Jonathan Hochwald. The landlord is also seeking to dismiss Sleep No More’s lawsuit.
Centaur has also brought in Oved & Oved, a law firm known for swooping in to represent real estate families during contentious litigation.
“This dispute is not about principle but about principal,” said Terrence and Darren Oved in a statement. “PDNYC’s complaint is a baseless, misguided and transparent attempt to avoid its obligation to pay over $4 million in past due rent.”
Sleep No More’s attorney did not return a request to comment.
The production company’s lawsuit made a number of allegations against the landlord. Notably, it alleged it had a deal with the landlord to hike its rent for $5.1 million but only for the first year. Centaur said the increased rent would help it to refinance its mortgage, according to PDNYC.
But Centaur’s new filings deny this purported agreement ever happened. Furthermore, Centaur notified its lender that it was exercising its right to extend the maturity date on its loan for five years, to May 2028.
Centaur says it’s impossible for Sleep No More to claim damages because the tenant is still using the premises without paying rent. Furthermore, Centaur has not sought to terminate the lease based on an inability to refinance.
Centaur bought the property in 2007 for $29.4 million. Sleep No More has occupied the site of the McKittrick Hotel since 2010. The production typically puts on eight shows a week.
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