The dust-up between Grey Gallery and the man who owns the building where the former art space and lounge made its home has turned into a legal battle. Friday afternoon, Grey’s owner Erik Guttridge sent out an e-mail plea to the lounge’s newsletter recipients asking for legal help to defend himself in a lawsuit brought by landowner Matt Basta.
According to court documents, Basta claims Guttridge left behind significant damage to his building at 1512 11th Ave when Grey Gallery moved out in June because of rising rent and what Guttridge said was a rocky relationship with Basta.
At the time, Basta said he was sorry to see Grey go. “I haven’t rented any space on 11th in two or three years so I don’t know what the environment is,” Basta told CHS. Grey left the space at the end of June. It has remained empty since.
According to court records, Basta’s lawyers filed the lawsuit against Guttridge’s company Slow and Steady, LLC in early August. The suit claims breach of contract and negligence on the part of Guttridge by “leaving behind substantial damages in an amount to be proven at trial.”
In his e-mail sent Friday afternoon, Guttridge says Basta is claiming $80,000 in damages.
Dear Friends and Supporters,
On June 19th we closed the doors of Grey on 11th Avenue due to issues between the landlord and the building owner. It was a difficult thing to do with business going well, so much support from the community, and a lot to look forward to in the coming months and years. Plus, remember all that booze? The Grey staff and I focused on the positive side and looked forward to reopening soon in a better building.
What seemed a worst-case scenario has, unfortunately, gotten even worse. The building owner has filed a lawsuit, against me and Grey claiming $80,000 in damages to a space that was left in better condition and with over $50,000 of improvements left behind. It’s a nightmare. His case has no merit though I have to defend against it and that takes money that I do not have. Or… it takes the help of a compassionate lawyer willing to work on contingency or pro bono.
This is where I ask for help: if you are a lawyer or you know of a lawyer in the Seattle area willing to help a community-centric, small business work through a case against a megalomaniacal landlord please get in touch with me at the email or phone number below.
Needless to say, with this set back, reopening in the near future is unlikely. I’m sorry I don’t have better news. I look forward to eventually putting all of this behind and reopening afresh.
Kind regards,
Erik
Basta acquired the building in 2000 for just over $1 million, King County records indicate. The land and the 14,000 square-foot building built in 1915 is worth about $2 million today according to tax records. In 2008, Basta was nailed by the city after tenants complained he had attempted to illegally boot them from the building. According to court records, Basta also ended up having to pay the defendant $1,000 in a lawsuit filed in 2009 in which he attempted to sue his former property manager for not moving out of the building at the end of a lease.
If you want to lend Guttridge a hand, you can contact him via Facebook.
If you have nothing – some one who files a stupid lawsuit will get nothing. (there are the deep pocket slogans as well)
Also, the immediate sentiment is to support Grey – but – they rebuilt the inside, and was that permitted by their lease? The configuration was a bit strange, with people upper and primo retail main floor space with “art” … most future uses would not be the same.
Looking for free attorneys for a business squabble? Good luck.
Grey Gallery transcended mere “business” and became an asset to the community and added cultural value to the neighborhood that goes above and beyond regular or normal retail use. Because it served as a magnet for artists and art collectors, it raised the value of all the other businesses around it. Because of Grey, other folks who might not have come into the neighborhood visited and perhaps then stayed to shop, eat and drink at other establishments in the Pike/Pine corridor, thus raising the value of the entire area. I hope that someone else agrees with me — someone with a law degree and some extra time who can help this visionary so he’s not totally driven into the ground and can rise again and open Grey Gallery in another incarnation.
most landlords suck as much as lawyers. and i hate lawyers. no way in the world that space is worth less now than it was before they moved in. greedy, greedy bastard. probably can’t rent it and the prop tax is coming due so he’s trying to squeeze some extra money out this way.
Wow, I ate and drank there several times, it was OK – guess I missed the REALLY good stuff …
another foolish comment from mwc, keep ’em coming, gives us all a good laugh. way to support a local business owner, cause you know, $80K is no big deal at all.
Hey there, uh- I said good luck. You know a free attorney, get her/him to these people. Maybe the Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce can help him?? Or a legal clinic somewhere.
And if you have nothing, doesn’t it make sense to assume law suits don’t make sense or settle for just a few bucks?
I ate and drank there a few times, it was OK. I will follow events, but, this type of suit can get complicated and drag on for years.
A million dollar investment is not pocket change … in our system, an investor of any sort expects a good return … I have a great landlord, just great.
Didn’t Basta get slapped with a $30,000 suit by the city in 2008 because the building wasn’t zoned residential?
Big f**king deal.
Who cares, there are people living in all sorts of spaces in the city that most likely not perfectly zoned or some such out of 100 per cent compliance.
so because Grey is a local business they are not subject to the public market where thing are not worth what they were a few years ago?
I have to agree with MwC because Grey is not the only business being effected um what about the person who RENTS Grey their space, are they are not included in the small business trying to make it. If it were not for them there is a good chance Grey would not even have existed.
I will agree that it is sad to see them go but the owners of the building need to make ends meet too and I would assume that both the owners of the building and Grey have spoken to each other and have not been able to work out a deal so everyone just assumes it is the owners fault and not that maybe Grey did not agree to the new terms what ever they be because if that is the fact then Grey is not just closing they chose to close.
One other thing the owners could decide to build an apartment complex or parking lot that so many other land holders have done to Capitol Hill.
That space has always been configured strangely. Grey didn’t build that balcony, it’s been there through the previous 2 tenants (a bodywork studio and a thrift store), at least. The only changes Grey made that another tenant would need to change would be to remove the walls in the middle of the main floor (I don’t think that would be hard, they aren’t floor-to-ceiling IIRC) and if it’s not a restaurant/bar, get rid of the bar.
I’m not automatically anti-landlord, but it does seem like THIS landlord is chasing after dollars for little to no reason. It’s a rough economy and he’s looking for any reasons to make a former tenant pay for his inability to rent out a good space.
Basta lost his suit with the city and I guess he’s trying to get back the $30,000 plus lawyers’ fees with the $80,000 he’s slapping on Grey Gallery.
Problem with grey, is he made tenant improvements, then yanked out these improvements when he left. Most commercial leases are very specific with regards to tenant improvements and usually the leasee needs to restore “to original condition” which of course is impossible, or the TI becomes property of the landlord. Since it’s basically impossible to restore after a buildout like Grey’s, they should have contacted the owner of the building, discussed the removal, and had a specific list of what he wanted “restored” and had paperwork releasing him.
Instead what he did, is close 3 weeks early, hire contractors to remove all his TI, then put back railings, stairs, etc. all made out of 2×4 studs (I looked at the space soon after he left) all under the cover of darkness with butcher paper over the door. The place is essentially now unrentable and will take a significant investment to turn it around.
I don’t know either party here but I did speak with the owner of the building and he seemed entirely reasonable, the space was demolished, and if I owned the building I would be doing the exact same thing. I think the problem here is the leasee’s emotions got the best of him, and as soon as emotion gets injected into business the cost rises exponentially.
Now more of the messy end of the lessor – lessee relationship comes to light.
Wonder what he did with all the stuff he pulled out of the space? Saving it – for something?
Now this story is getting worth reading.
According to the landlord, the stuff is just in storage. I never went to Grey, but from photos it looked like a very cool buildout. What is left there now, is essentially a shell, with 2×4’s holding it all together. Very sad what was done to a beautiful space. Seemed to me an immature emotional response to perhaps not getting his way.
Note, the rent that the landlord was seeking was $24/sf which is right around what it should be. Granted, it was probably a lot more than he was paying, but this is america, unless you have a long term lease that is specific about rent schedule, you are at the mercy of the market. You can’t have it both ways, either choose the stability of a long lease, or take the risk on a lower payment on a short term and realize that if you are successful, your rent IS going to go up. Welcome to America, this is how we do it. Landlords are also small business owners, they buy buildings to make money.
well, that changes a lot. If the Grey owner did in fact pull out their fixtures and whatnot (and I thought the railings were there pre-Grey?) and leave 2x4s in their place, the owner does indeed have a case.
You know, I wouldn’t put it past Erik. Unfortunately, I met that man and was never impressed with him or his actions. I would not put it past him to have left that space in shambles.
Sounds like to me it’s going to be a battle to see which jerk can win.