Douglas Emmett is going after the Center for Autism and Related Disorders, claiming the treatment provider exited its lease in Woodland Hills without paying its rent.
The landlord filed a lawsuit with the Los Angeles Superior Court earlier this month against CARD, alleging it owes more than $4.7 million in expenses and future rent through 2026, according to the complaint. It represents the fourth lawsuit Douglas Emmett has filed against a former tenant in the last six weeks.
In 2015, CARD signed a lease for about 32,000 square feet at 21600 Oxnard Street, part of Douglas Emmett’s Warner Center Towers complex. Under the 11-year lease, CARD agreed to pay about $68,400 per month, which would increase 3 percent per year, according to lease documents filed with the complaint.
As of the beginning of June, the monthly rent was $84,300 per month, or about $2.63 per square foot a month. The average asking rent for office space across L.A. last quarter was $3.87 a foot, according to Savills.
CARD, which was bought by Blackstone in 2018, also agreed to pay a share of operating costs, according to Douglas Emmett.
On May 18, the Center for Autism “surrendered possession of the premises” to Douglas Emmett, the latter claims in its complaint, even though the lease was still set to expire in March 2026.
Douglas Emmett said it hasn’t yet found a replacement tenant for the space, leading it to pursue court action against CARD to recover sunk costs.
Neither CARD nor Douglas Emmett responded to requests for comment.
This is the fourth time since the beginning of June that Douglas Emmett has filed a lawsuit claiming a tenant has failed to pay rent or breached its lease altogether.
Suing over unpaid rent and breach of lease was an avenue used by many landlords throughout the pandemic, as commercial eviction moratoriums prohibited owners from kicking tenants out.
On June 1, Douglas Emmett sued Grapevine Advisors for failing to pay rent from April through July 2020, which accumulated to $650,000, according to court records. Just two days later, Douglas Emmett filed another suit against financial advisor Cappello Group, claiming at least $55,000 in unpaid rent and other expenses. Two weeks later, the firm sued a doctor in Brentwood, claiming $162,900 in back rent.
The post Douglas Emmett claims Center for Autism owes $4.7M appeared first on The Real Deal Los Angeles.
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