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ARTICLE · 10 DECEMBER 2020

HBC's Efforts To Withhold Rent Due To Landlords' Failure To Maintain "First Class" Shopping Centres

Gardiner Roberts LLP
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During the COVID-19 pandemic, with consumers leery of indoor shopping and retailers being forced to keep their doors closed due to health regulations, many commercial tenants are staring down...

CanadaLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
James R.G. Cook
James R.G. Cook
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During the COVID-19 pandemic, with consumers leery of indoor shopping and retailers being forced to keep their doors closed due to health regulations, many commercial tenants are staring down the barrel of eviction due to their failure to pay rent. One retailer in Canada, Hudson's Bay Company ("HBC"), which professes to be North America's oldest company, has decided to go on the offensive by filing a Statement of Claim in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice against a number of affiliated companies (the "Landlords") who own shopping centres in Canada in which HBC operates.

HBC's failure to pay rent during the pandemic has been widely   reported.  There can be little doubt that the revenue from bricks and mortar retail stores has been dramatically impacted by the pandemic. According to HBC's Statement of Claim, however, negotiations with the Landlords regarding the payment of rent were halted when the Landlords "surreptitiously commenced litigation against HBC

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