- November 1, 2024
-
-
Loading
Loading
St. Joe Plaza — where the Flagler Humane Society had its thrift shop until moving it to 480 Palm Coast Parkway SW in September — has threatened to sue the Humane Society for tens for thousands of dollars in rent because the Humane Society left before the end of its lease.
“We’re not going to pay that; that’s ridiculous,” Flagler Humane Society Executive Director Amy Carotenuto said, adding that the Humane Society left the plaza because of maintenance problems she believed had affected sales. “We paid up for as long as we were there,” she said.
Michael Chiumento, of the local law firm Chiumento, Dwyer, Hertel, Grant & Kistemaker, which is representing St. Joe Plaza Inc., said the two sides are working toward an agreement.
“They were a tenant; they abandoned the property; my client was apparently discussing the situation with them,” he said. “We’re confident that it will get resolved. ... If they had a lease, and if what they assert is not true, then they’ll be responsible for their obligations under the lease.”
The Flagler Humane Society had been renting four units for its thrift shop, and had issues with damaged floors, non-functioning air conditioning units and water leaks that had damaged ceiling tiles and in some cases the thrift shop’s goods, Carotenuto said.
An attorney for the FHS board, Timothy Conner, notified St. Joe Plaza on May 4, 2018, that the Humane Society planned to end its lease this November, rather than the May 31, 2019, date that the lease would otherwise terminate.
On June 18, Conner wrote again, requesting rent abatement and stating, “Physical conditions at the plaza have gotten progressively worse and you were previously notified the Humane Society has been forced to relocate the store and terminate its lease.”
Vincent Sullivan, an attorney representing St. Joe Plaza Inc. with Chiumento’s law firm, wrote to Conner Sept. 6 stating that St. Joe Plaza Inc. was aware that the Humane Society had left the plaza and hadn’t paid rent since the end of June.
It owed St. Joe Plaza rent, fees and interest totaling $19, 509.98 for July, August and September, Sullivan wrote, and if the Humane Society didn’t cure its default, the eight months remaining on the lease would come due, totaling another $49,046.72.
The letter rejected Conner’s request to end the lease early because it did not provide a full six months’ notice. Sullivan also wrote that the request for rent abatement would be denied.
"We gave notice, we gave official notice, and then they’re coming back with, 'The official notice is four days late,'" Carotenuto said. "We just are all about being fair — we don’t want to rip anybody off — but that’s just not fair. And this whole thing is just to help homeless animals, and for them to do something like that just seems kind of crummy."
“In every dispute there’s two sides, and we’ll have to work through those issues,” Chiumento said. “My client is committed to working with the Humane Society to resolve the issue.”
