Black Rock Shopping Center suing Gap Inc. for $120K unpaid rent

Old Navy has been sailing into unwanted legal waters for the past few months over unpaid rent ”“ and can now add a Fairfield shopping center to its list of plaintiffs.

Black Rock Shopping Center is seeking $119,729 from the clothing retailer, owned by Gap Inc., in Fairfield Superior Court. That suit joins one filed by West Hartford-based Corbin”™s Corner in Hartford Superior Court, which seeks $231,838, and another filed by Southbury Green Shopping Center in Waterbury Superior Court seeking $51,737.

All three suits maintain that they informed Gap Inc. of unpaid rent on June 8. The company “failed and refused, and continues to fail and refuse to make any of the requested payments and has failed to abide by the terms of the lease for the premises,” the suits say.

Throughout May and June, the company was sued by shopping center operators in a number of other locations, including $227,000 in Philadelphia, $100,000 in Los Angeles, and over $1 million in San Francisco, where Gap Inc. is headquartered.

In an April filing with the SEC, Gap Inc. ”“ which also owns Banana Republic ”“ said it had stopped paying rent for its 2,785 North American retail stores due to the Covid-19-related costs of closing its stores, and complying with local restrictions since those outlets have reopened. All told, the firm said the rents came to $155 million.

“We remain committed to working with our landlords on mutually agreeable solutions and fair rent terms, just as our industry and government partners have sat with us in good faith to shape the post-Covid business landscape,” the company said.