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davis_squareThe owners of the Gorin Building at 255 Elm Street have sued the owners of Found, a used-clothing consignment shop that closed at the end of January.
The suit alleges that Found owes $21,981.42 in unpaid back rent, that they abandoned the property leaving it in "disarray", and that they broke their lease which obligates them to pay rent through the end of August 2017. ($9472.50/month through 8/31/16, then $9804.03/month through 8/31/17)
So far, this sounds like an ordinary business dispute, but the landlord also twice cites my January 28 post to DSLJ:
and
I became aware of this lawsuit when a representative from Safety Insurance Company came to my door at 12:55 pm on Tuesday afternoon, May 24. He wanted me to sign an affidavit stating that I made the DSLJ post cited above, and asked me some questions about the appearance of the person whom I quoted in that post. I declined to sign the affidavit, which was my right, but the Safety rep said that this may result in me being subpoenaed as a witness.
He told me that the owners of Found had cancelled their insurance policy the same day as my DSLJ post, and he was very interested in determining whether Fred Bennett had cancelled the policy before or after making the statement quoted above.
If anyone wants to follow along, the case number is 1681CV00413, Misujo Realty LLC vs Davis Square Consignment, LLC Doing Business as Found, Fred Bennett, Meredith Bennett, Defendants, and Eastern Bank NA, Trustee Defendant. The complaint was filed in Middlesex Superior Court which is located in Woburn. You can follow the status of the case by filling out this form, but the content of the filed documents is not online. So far, the defendants have not answered the complaint. Their deadline for doing so is June 15.
The suit alleges that Found owes $21,981.42 in unpaid back rent, that they abandoned the property leaving it in "disarray", and that they broke their lease which obligates them to pay rent through the end of August 2017. ($9472.50/month through 8/31/16, then $9804.03/month through 8/31/17)
So far, this sounds like an ordinary business dispute, but the landlord also twice cites my January 28 post to DSLJ:
COUNT III: Fraudulent Transfer
20. Upon information and belief, the defendants are seeking to use the funds and assets of the defendant Found to start a new company or to establish Found in another location. (See Davis Square Live Journal, dated January 28, 2016, attached hereto as Exhibit "C")
and
COUNT V: Slander/Defamation - Fred Bennett
29. Upon information and belief, on or about January 28, 2016, while in the process of abandoning the Premises, defendant Fred Bennett told a third-party that the plaintiff was "a greedy jerk who jacked up the rent, and is not a good person." (See Exhibit C)
30. The statement by Bennett is factually untrue.
31. Additional comments on the community webpage attached as Exhibit C demonstrate that such defamatory words of defendant Fred Bennett held the plaintiff up to contempt, hatred, scorn, or ridicule or tended to impair his standing in the community, at least to his discredit in the minds of a considerable and respectable class in the community.
I became aware of this lawsuit when a representative from Safety Insurance Company came to my door at 12:55 pm on Tuesday afternoon, May 24. He wanted me to sign an affidavit stating that I made the DSLJ post cited above, and asked me some questions about the appearance of the person whom I quoted in that post. I declined to sign the affidavit, which was my right, but the Safety rep said that this may result in me being subpoenaed as a witness.
He told me that the owners of Found had cancelled their insurance policy the same day as my DSLJ post, and he was very interested in determining whether Fred Bennett had cancelled the policy before or after making the statement quoted above.
If anyone wants to follow along, the case number is 1681CV00413, Misujo Realty LLC vs Davis Square Consignment, LLC Doing Business as Found, Fred Bennett, Meredith Bennett, Defendants, and Eastern Bank NA, Trustee Defendant. The complaint was filed in Middlesex Superior Court which is located in Woburn. You can follow the status of the case by filling out this form, but the content of the filed documents is not online. So far, the defendants have not answered the complaint. Their deadline for doing so is June 15.
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no subject
Date: 2016-05-26 02:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-05-26 02:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-05-27 11:59 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-05-27 12:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-05-27 08:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-05-27 06:49 pm (UTC)Seriously? They're bringing defamation charges over blatant and obvious opinion? (Moreover, over hearsay of such an opinion?) Unless the "jacked up the rent" part is factually false, I hope that this will get laughed out of court...
no subject
Date: 2016-05-27 07:06 pm (UTC)Initial lease:
9/1/2011-8/31/2012: $8000/month
9/1/12-8/31/13: $8500
9/1/13-8/31/14: $9000
Lease extension:
9/1/14-8/31/15: $9157
9/1/15-8/31/16: $9472.50
9/1/16-8/31/17: $9804.03
Is that "jacking"? That's a matter of opinion. In any event, it is a series of rent increases mutually agreed upon in writing, years in advance.
RE: Goods
Date: 2016-06-02 12:34 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-07-02 01:33 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-05-28 02:16 am (UTC)Plus, unless the exhibits are outright fabrications (which would be crazy to do for someone filing a lawsuit), Found folks appear to have agreed to this.
In short, I hope the landlords win. This just reinforces my opinion that the people running Found are simply a bunch of assholes. Especially considering how they've treated the people who left them things. Add the fact that they are starting up a new business elsewhere. This just seems like a way to screw over a bunch of people (I'd love to hear what the former employees of the DS location think of them).
no subject
Date: 2016-05-28 02:21 am (UTC)Since he and his wife seem to be screwing the consigners, I have no sympathy for them. We'll know a little more when the Scout Somerville article comes out.
no subject
Date: 2016-05-28 02:31 am (UTC)http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/230-Dudley-Rd-Newton-MA-02459/56536534_zpid/
Considering they can afford this house, I have zero sympathy at all:
You can afford a $10 million house? You can afford $10K a month rent for your "boutique", and you can sure as hell afford to pay the people who you stole clothing from.
no subject
Date: 2016-05-28 02:35 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-06-01 11:30 pm (UTC)These are criminals. They have so many new with tags merchandise of mine and i have no idea how to get back. Has anyone had any luck getting their goods back or their $$ for sales? It feels like theft. A person looked me in the eye end of December/beginning of January and took a ton of Marc Jacobs dresses among other designer goods that were new. I'm so upset. I called AG's office but not sure what I can do. I won't give up. I've had a few other people reach out to me after a post a few months ago and there's a ton of people in the same boat.
Not sure you have any suggestions on what I can do.
no subject
Date: 2016-06-02 02:03 am (UTC)1) Talk to Emily Cassel
2) Talk to other journalists such as Adam Gaffin at Universal Hub, or the folks at the Somerville Journal and Somerville Times and the Newton TAB (since the Bennetts live in Newton).
3) WBZ's Call For Action
4) Get together with other jilted consigners and visit the Bennetts in person. Maybe on a Sunday morning at 8:30 am, or a weekday evening around 9:30 pm? 230 Dudley Rd, Newton, MA 02459-2828. According to this comment, their phone numbers are 617-332-9994 and -9995. Having some journalists with you when you do this might help, too.
5) Leaflet their immediate neighbors, telling them that the Bennetts are deadbeats who have failed to return consigners' goods or money.
no subject
Date: 2016-06-02 02:45 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-07-02 01:29 am (UTC)However, they assert that they did not actually sign a lease extension, and therefore the rental reverted to month-to-month after the initial three years were up. The attached Exhibit A includes a lease amendment that gives terms for such an extension, but there is no exhibit with actual signatures for an extension.
In addition, the defendants stated their intent to move to strike Exhibit C, my January 28 LiveJournal post and comments, from the case because it "sets forward unverified, undocumented, and inadmissible hearsay from an unverified source."
Goods
Date: 2016-06-01 11:28 pm (UTC)RE: Goods
Date: 2016-06-02 12:35 am (UTC)RE: Goods
Date: 2016-06-02 02:45 am (UTC)RE: Goods
Date: 2016-06-02 08:42 am (UTC)A complaint with the AG's office wouldn't be a bad idea either...
RE: Goods
Date: 2016-06-07 02:57 pm (UTC)RE: Goods
Date: 2016-06-13 01:44 am (UTC)And my memory is that there's a form you fill out with the AG to get them to investigate something... and that you can do it online. If you can find other people in the same position and get them all to file with the AG, I expect that will substantially improve the odds that the AG will apply some pressure.
RE: Goods
Date: 2016-06-20 11:52 pm (UTC)