A commercial lease dispute between a shuttered North Vancouver brewery Greenleaf Brewing and its former landlord is no closer to a resolution following a court decision last month.
The owners of Greenleaf Brewing have filed a claim against Lonsdale Quay Market Corporation (LQMC), alleging the property owner misled the defendants regarding lease renewal and failed to approve the $450,000 sale of their business to a third party.
LQMC countersued, claiming they are still owed more than $224,000 plus interest in unpaid rent as well as an unspecified percentage of the tenant’s sales revenue calculated under the lease agreement.
Despite the fact both parties advocated for a summary trial, the application was dismissed by Justice Michael Stephens.
GREENLEAF BREWING LEASE DISPUTE
In the decision, Justice Stephens stated that there are substantive issues that are in dispute and “will likely require consideration of credibility of witnesses.”
“I am unable in this case to make findings on the affidavit evidence,” he stated.
The commercial relationship between the parties spanned nine years, from 2013 to October 2022.
The owners of Greenleaf said the LQMC “misled” and “gave false hope” about the possibility of renewing the lease in the fall of 2020. Lawyers for LQMC state there is no evidence that the market knowingly misled the brewers.
Matters escalated when Lonsdale Quay Market issued a notice of termination in September 2022, prompting Greenleaf to file a summary trial application last spring.
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