Ken Todd, the husband of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum Lisa Vanderpump, is being sued over $80,000 in alleged unpaid rent for their shuttered restaurant Villa Blanca.
According to court documents obtained by The Blast, Golden Triangle Building LLC is suing Blanca Investments LLC and Kenneth Todd. The plaintiffs accuse the defendants of breach of lease and breach of guaranty and declaratory relief.
The suit says the defendants signed a lease with them in 2009 to open Villa Blanca. The plaintiff says “Defendants are required during the Lease to pay Base Rent and Additional Rent.”
Further, “Notwithstanding the requirements of the Lease, Tenants failed and refused to make all the payments of Rent due under the lease. The lease was not terminated …. and Plaintiff does not intend to terminate the Lease.”
The landlord accuses the defendants of failing to comply with applicable Covid-19 ordinances such as “they have no protections in connection with the amounts due and owing.” The suit says Ken claims to have paid a $40,000 security deposit but they have no record of it.
The suit says the defendants claim to have terminated the lease agreement themselves. The landlord says they had no right to terminate the lease and believes it’s still active, reports The Blast. The suit is demanding the Villa Blanca defendants pay a total of $80.236.86 for October’s rent. They are seeking an additional $80,236.86 in additional damages.
If you recall, LVP confirmed in July 2020 that Villa Blanca was officially closing after 12 years. "Although there have been many untrue articles in the past week or so about the reasons for closing Villa Blanca, we are indeed going to be closing up our doors for good,” she told The Daily Mail.
"Reputable news sources shouldn’t quote untrue facts printed in gossip columns.”
LVP shared at that time that the 12-year lease for the restaurant was expiring imminently and the landlord was not willing to renegotiate on the rent price.
"If the landlord had been willing to renegotiate and the lease wasn’t ending, we would have reopened, but unfortunately with Coronavirus, the situation was beyond our control.”
Vanderpump reveals that she's hopeful that she can reopen the restaurant at a different location after the pandemic.
“While saying goodbye to the location where we have actively served the Beverly Hills community for 12 years and employed hundreds of Angelenos, is a sad time for us, we are excited to perhaps bring Villa Blanca back in the future at a different location – as its staff and customers have always been a family.”
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