Midway Shopping Center sued by Tenants for Early Eviction
Last May, riots broke out in St. Paul’s Midway causing fire, vandalism, smoke and water damage to businesses in the Midway Shopping Center on University Avenue. Storeowners state that only 10 percent of businesses were heavily damaged, while the other 90 percent of businesses were mostly unscathed. Some tenants are suing Snelling-Midway Redevelopment, LLC (along with other defendants) over its decision to empty the strip mall after the May riots in anticipation of a site redevelopment. The allegations by the tenants include breach of contract, wrongful eviction, and breach of duty of good faith and fair dealing.
Tenants claim that their leases stated occupation of the buildings would be untenable only in the event of major property damage impacting 70 percent of the Midway Shopping Center. Thus, the tenants believe the owners breached the leases because only 10 percent of the strip mall suffered damage from the May riots. The tenants are frustrated because they are not able to run their business operations and are seeking at least $50,000 in damages, with the exact amount determined at trial.