The lawsuit contends that Sharon Wright and Philip Sweet, the owners of Wise Guys, failed to maintain appropriate insurance policy limits, have failed to make monthly rent payments and failed to use the premises “in a careful, safe and proper manner.”
Alex Rodger, an attorney for Wright and Sweet, said the contention right now is over non-payment of the rent, and the safety portion of the case has not yet been argued.
“It may not be, depending on how the finance section goes,” Rodger said. “We’re kind of in limbo on (safety).”
Rodger further argued that the rent has been paid in full. The owners of Wiseguys have declined to comment on any aspect of the case.
According to the initial filing, the lease agreement began in February 2014. In August of that year, Kenwood Lincoln-Mercury purchased the property from its previous owners. The defendants were ordered to leave the premises on June 1 of this year and have not done so. Kenwood Lincoln-Mercury contends that Wright and Sweet owe them $6,325 in rent and late fees.
However, the Sweets have filed a counterclaim against Kenwood Lincoln-Mercury, arguing that since August 2014, the dealership repeatedly contacted the Sweets, trying to get them to vacate the premises so that it could “demolish the building and extend its auto empire.” The Sweets demand they be relieved from making further rent payments until the matter is resolved, and that they be refunded rent they have paid.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs deferred comment to a representative of Kenwood Lincoln-Mercury, which could not be reached for comment.
In April, Fairfield City Council objected to the bar's liquor license being renewed because of repeated police response at that the establishment. The city's law director, John Clemmons, said that case has not been scheduled for a hearing yet.
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