Landlord Sues Valentino For $207.1M After Retailer 'Abandons' Fifth Avenue Store

Photo credit: Google Maps
693 Fifth Ave.

A  Fifth Avenue landlord is asking the Supreme Court of the State of New York to make luxury retailer Valentino pay $207.1M, alleging the Italian fashion house illegally deserted its location and violated the terms of its hugely valuable lease.

Savitt Partners, which filed the lawsuit under 693 Fifth Owner LLC, sued Valentino U.S.A. Inc. for unpaid rent, damages and for the sum of the rent until the retailer's lease agreement is up in 2029, according to the lawsuit. Reuters first reported news of the lawsuit Friday.

Retail landlords have been suing their tenants for unpaid rent since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, but for sums that pale in comparison to what Savitt is seeking from Valentino. JEMB Realty sued H&M for $4M in unpaid rent in Herald Square, Simon Property Group filed a $66M national lawsuit against the Gap, and L'Occitane was sued by its Upper West Side landlord, The Vanbarton Group, for $746K.

The landlord alleges Valentino “abandoned” its location at 693 Fifth Ave. in December, after failing to pay rent from September to February of this year and “turned over the Premises … with its valuable components having been destroyed."

The damages alone will cost the landlord over $12.8M, it claims in the lawsuit. The landlord is asking for the court to make Valentino pay its rent through the end of its lease term on July 31, 2029, on top of rent owed while the retailer still occupied the building.

The suit comes after Valentino was one of a slew of retailers that attempted to get out of their leases by bringing their landlords to court. Valentino argued it should be allowed to exit the lease because Fifth Avenue could no longer provide the kind of location needed to sell the luxury products amid the pandemic and onward.

A judge dismissed that case last month, weeks before the landlord sued the company, court documents show.

Continue reading this story with a free account

Log in or register
Sign up for more articles like this
Subscribe to Bisnow's New York Newsletters
Related Stories

Ken Griffin Strikes $86M Palm Beach Real Estate Deal With Blackstone

Tax Break Fight Threatens Development In Housing-Starved Long Island

Fabletics To Add 25 New U.S. Storefronts

Vornado, Related's Google-Anchored Office Building Faces 'Imminent Default'

Flex Retail Is 'Hottest Asset' In Triangle Region, Developers Say

Simon Property Group To More Than Double $18M In Lost Saks Global Rents With New Leases

Pied-À-Terre Tax Won't Deter Buyers Long Term, Developers Say

Long Island City Lab Sells At A Loss: The N.Y. Deal Sheet

Ari Emanuel Invests In Broadway's Next Act With $6B Theater Buy

Yardi-Backed Flex Office Marketplace Launches In U.S. As Companies Plan To Up Attendance

SL Green Booted As Worldwide Plaza Manager Amid Foreclosure Battle

Wendy's Plots More Closures Amid U.S. Sales Slump