BLACKSBURG, Va. – "Time to reopen," said Frank Theatres' attorney Greg Habeeb following a judge's ruling to grant an emergency injunction at the request of the CineBowl & Grille.
Frank Theatres will be given access as soon as an $80,000 bond is paid, according to the ruling by Montgomery County Judge Marc Long.
Long's decision was based on the manner in which property owner Blacksburg APF Partners shut down the building Tuesday. He likened it to the former Baltimore Colts picking up the team and leaving the city in the middle of the night.Â
Long ruled the lease wasn't followed when Blacksburg APF Partners locked the doors to the theater Tuesday and delivered a termination of lease order the next day.
Late Wednesday, property owners announced a new operator, Cinergy, would take over to run the business.
Defense attorney Patrick Callahan argued the property owners had to make business decisions to get a new operator and get business up and going to mitigate damages.
Habeeb argued that "they went too fast, did not provide notice, and now we know why," he said. "They had a better offer," he continued.
Callahan explained, the property owners sent a half-dozen letters since Feb. 20, stating Frank Theatres was in arrears in rent and other expenses.
Debt, despite the revelation in court Thursday that the CineBowl & Grille generated $500,000 to $900,000 in monthly revenue, depending on the month.
Callahan went on to say that the theater was in a "continual state of default" since March 2014. It led the owners to request financial documents which were not provided until Tuesday this week, Callahan said.
Notices were sent in June and October 2015, in December 2016 and February 2017. Each notice, he said was the group trying to work with the tenant so we didn't "have to go out and find someone else to operate," Callahan continued.
Callahan argued that "$500,000 in arrears suggests you've got problems," saying it's unfair for Frank Theatres to now say it's in a position to go out of business.
Thursday's ruling will allow Frank Theatres to open as soon as possible after its bond is paid Friday morning.
Employees were being called late Thursday, Habeeb said, in an effort to reopen by Friday night or "certainly by the weekend."
The two sides will return to court May 19 for an unlawful detainer hearing, requested by the property owners. It is the first of what could be many steps in determining if there was a breach in the lease agreement.
The injunction granted Thursday will be in place until May 22, when both parties will go before Long again.