Rent deferral, not a waiver of the covid rents
Lack of impartiality of the conciliator before the commercial court
The tenant, operator of the leaseback property, proposed a rent waiver amendments to the lessors. The Pierre et Vacances Group put pressure on landlords to agree to rent waivers for the Covid period. In particular, it financed 100% of a conciliation before the commercial court, while refusing the conciliations proposed by the judicial court, which would have provided guarantees of impartiality. The role of the conciliator before the commercial court is to have claims waived (to save the failing company). Legal untruths were written to the lessors in an attempt to convince them to give in. Our firm refused to take part in this conciliation, as it did not offer the minimum guarantees of impartiality.
Waiver Covid: Legal reason of the Court of Paris
The court of Paris interpreted PV CP CITY’s waiver no. 2 as follows:
“It is clear from these documents that the lessor grants the lessee a deductible of 5 months contractual rent excluding taxes and charges, including the entire period from March 15, 2020 to June 13, 2020.
Reciprocally, the lessee undertakes to pay the lessor the positive difference between the contractual rent and the above-mentioned waiver, net of rent already paid, in respect of the restrictive measures periods on December 31, 2021.
Consequently, it follows from these waivers that the lessee’s rent payments will be deferred, and not that the lessor will remit rent for the period from March 15, 2020 to June 13, 2020.
The claim to dismiss the action for payment brought by Mr. and Mrs. I. and by the company I. is inoperative.”
(Judgment of the Paris District Court, 18th Civil Division, March 22, 2023)
Failure to sign the waiver
The court of Paris rejected also the claim of Pierre et vacances regading the waiver of other lessors, but based on a different legal ground.
“Finally, it should be noted that Mr. A., Mrs. C. and Mr. E. did not sign these endorsements. The claim is also inoperative.”
(Judgment of the Paris District Court, 18th Civil Division, March 22, 2023)
The tenant failed to prove the signatures of these waivers.
The question of the waiver concerned only some of the lessors of this group of 40 owners, the rest having refused to sign a transaction devoid of reciprocal concessions.
As a reminder, the lessee was ordered to pay 31 de la résidence Adagio Paris Tour Eiffel 845,549 euros in unpaid rent and 3100 euros in legal fees (article 700 CPC).
(0.00 out of 5)