The man, the myth, the legend Ken Todd has a little business to handle. Allegedly. And isn’t that the name of the game in the food service industry? The husband of Vanderpump Rules maven Lisa Vanderpump seems to have another court date looming.
Lisa and Ken’s Pump has gone from a WeHo hotspot hosting fun times to hosting fond memories of days gone by. But closing Pump hasn’t come without bumps and bruises. Unfortunately, Ken has found himself smacked with a lawsuit by the property owner behind the building. Radar has the details.
GOODBYE PUMP!
According to court documents, a company called 8948 Santa Monica Partners is suing PUMP LLC and Ken for breach of contract. Oh, dear. They’re also tacking on promissory fraud and conversion.
The suit alleged the site was leased in 2013 and Ken agreed to pay $32,500 a month in rent. In 2020 the rent for the property increased to a whopping $42,500. The docs state 8948 said Ken and Pump LLC would transfer and convey the Liquor License … upon the termination of the lease.
8948 claims the lease agreement stated Ken and Pump LLC would transfer the Liquor License to 8948 after the lease terminated. But now the company believes Ken never intended to follow the terms of the lease.
Pump remained under Ken until July 13, 2013 “at which date Pump surrendered possession of the premises.” Pump is accused of not paying rent and “other charges” amounting to a total of $250k. The suit also claims Pump failed to turn over the Liquor License to 8948 per the lease requirements.
The property owner is not playing
Additionally, the docs said, “PUMP has removed from the Premises fixtures and property attached to the Premises (“Fixtures”) including without limitation a customized security gate (“Gate”).”
The building has a new tenant but needs that liquor license ASAP so the new folks can serve alcohol along with the full-service restaurant. So if Ken doesn’t get it done, he might be in big(ger) trouble.
It continues, “Defendants’ and each of their failure and refusal to reassign, transfer and convey the Liquor License to 8948 will cause 8948 to suffer a loss of approximately $56,500 of base rent and other charges for each month that Defendants fail and refuse to reassign, transfer and convey the Liquor License to 8948. In addition, 8948 will suffer a loss of the value of the Liquor License itself with a current estimated fair market value of $150,000.”
Basically, all of that means the property owner now wants $750k in damages for breaking contract. They want an additional $200k for neglecting to turn over the liquor license and taxing fixtures.
The owner said, “We are aggressively pursuing damages and he will be held fully liable. Nothing this guy won’t do including skipping out on rent, attempting to unlawfully remove mature trees on the property, stealing our liquor license and patio gates, and ripping chandeliers out of our ceilings. Half of their employees opted to stay with our new tenant for good reason.”
Welp, sounds like Barbie didn’t look at Ken on this day.
TELL US – WILL KEN BE LIABLE FOR THE MONEY? IS HE REFUSING TO RELEASE THE LIQUOR LICENSE?
