Soon after Bradenton Beach commissioners learned of a possible global settlement of four contentious lawsuits, they pondered the beginning of a new one.
City attorney Ricinda Perry told commissioners at the March 5 meeting that she had filed a complaint in 12th Judicial Circuit Court to evict Roland Pena, owner of Cast-n-Cage Restaurant on the city-owned Historic Bridge Street Pier, due to failure to make timely payment of his $5,665 March 1 rent.
“The issues are very clear cut and should not require a tremendous amount of litigating to get the property back to the city,” Perry said, referring to the restaurant and two storefronts.
This was Pena’s fourth late payment within a 12-month period, Perry said, adding that according to the lease, after three or more late payments during a floating 12-month period, he is considered a “habitual violator” who no longer has grace periods in which to pay rent late.
Commissioners declared Cast-n-Cage a habitual violator in November, following three late payments. After the fourth, Perry prepared the complaint.
She asked the court to expedite the matter, as permitted by state law.
“What they don’t understand is that when they amended the lease again, to raise the rent on March 1 … they started the clock all over again,” Pena said after the March 5 meeting, which he did not attend. “It’s a different-month period.”
That point likely will be part of Pena’s case as the matter heads to the courthouse, “and we are prepared for that,” he said.
In the complaint, Perry seeks to return the restaurant to the city, but she requested no monetary damages because doing so could delay the eviction process.
The nearly 80-page complaint includes a notice of termination served on Pena March 3 by the Bradenton Beach Police Department. He also was to be served with a copy of the complaint not long after the March 5 meeting.
Pena attempted to pay the rent, including an 18 percent penalty, March 5, but staff turned him away from city hall on advice from Perry to preserve the lawsuit.
Shearon said he and Police Chief Sam Speciale, facilitator of the pier team committee, are working on a request for proposal and contract proposal for a future tenant, based on similar documents for the concession stands at Manatee County beaches.
Perry said the city cannot change the locks on the restaurant until the courts say it has the right to take the property back. She hopes to schedule a hearing with a judge by the end of March. Until then, Pena retains possession of the restaurant.
Pena said the city’s progress on the proposal for a new tenant and Vice Mayor Jack Clarke’s question about changing the locks tells him “they have been planning on trying to get me out since who knows when.”