Pryor Cashman, on behalf of its client, grocery chain The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. Inc. sued the landlord and managers of Trump Palace, claiming they used "bogus" violations to impose $86,000 in fines and threaten to terminate the lease on A&P’s gourmet its flagship Food Emporium street-level unit.

The Trump Palace condominium association and landlord Equity One Inc. threatened to cancel the lease on A&P's gourmet Food Emporium store for failing to polish brass on its doors, repair chips in its granite exterior and keep the roof terrace clean, among other infractions, A&P said in a complaint filed in New York state court.

A&P is seeking an injunction barring Equity One from canceling the lease.  “Not only is Trump's imposition of fines frivolous, but its conduct is in bad faith,” Pryor Cashman partner and trial counsel James S. O’Brien, Jr. said.  “Trump's conduct is classic overreaching and the default notices must be enjoined.”

The building's rules, laid out by a condominium agreement, simply require owners to keep their units in “good” condition, O’Brien said. The rules do not mention brass polishing, replacing the loading dock door or any of the half-dozen other infractions cited in the default notices, O’Brien said.  “In fact, A&P always maintains its Food Emporium store ... in excellent — not merely 'good' — condition and Trump's conduct was and is entirely arbitrary and subjective,” A&P said in the complaint.

Trump's alleged violations relate mostly to issues addressed by a series of agreements between the parties over the years, like a 2007 dispute settlement in which A&P agreed to polish the brass twice a year.  But many of those conditions have since been superseded by later agreements, the complaint states.

“The alleged violations underlying the default notices are bogus,” O’Brien stated. “To the extent that any repairs to the premises ever were required, A&P has already completed them or is in the process of completing them.”

In the case, Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. Inc. v. Equity One et al., the Supreme Court, New York County, granted A&P a temporary restraining order pending a full hearing on its injunction application.

A&P is represented by Pryor Cashman Litigation Partner James S. O'Brien Jr. and associate Sarah Bell.

To read the Law360 article discussing the case, please click here.