Moye White says LoDo landlord wrongfully evicted it to make way for Ibotta

Moye White is going out fighting The longtime Denver law firm which has stopped providing legal services but still exists as an entity has countersued a LoDo landlord that claimed in February to be owed nearly million In the suit Moye White insists its landlord at Domain Square the Teachers Retirement System of the State of Illinois failed to follow correct procedure when it booted the law firm and its subtenants last year The landlord Moye White believes was in a rush to sign a new lease with a desirable new tenant the newly citizens tech firm Ibotta By missing key attempts the law firm insists its landlord placed itself in a legal conundrum where it has two tenants who both might have a right to possess the same space A move to RiNo and a decision to dissolve Moye White s real estate and its final months of operation are a bit complicated The firm originally leased space at Arena Square at th St in Denver in Moye White expanded multiple times ultimately taking square feet through June In January however Moye White reported it would become the first major law firm to relocate to RiNo It moved into square feet in The Current at Delgany St in The LoDo lease was still in effect Moye White subleased the space to Revenir Vitality and INEOS two oil and gas firms Revenir took square feet while INEOS took square feet according to Moye White s countersuit But those firms didn t pay as much as Moye White had been paying leaving the law firm responsible for covering the difference about a month in base rent according to Domain Square Related Articles Lawsuit challenges Douglas County effort to gain home-rule powers alleging open meetings violation Nikola Jokic s brother sued over viral Ball Arena brawl after Lakers encounter Federal judge extends order restricting Trump s use of Alien Enemies Act in Colorado Former Broncos TE Shannon Sharpe accused of rape in million civil lawsuit international students in Colorado sue Trump administration over termination of immigration status Then came a big announcement On April Moye White communicated that nearly all its employees including its managing partner would be joining Fennemore a Phoenix-based law firm The insufficient attorneys who didn t go to Fennemore landed at firms including Lewis Roca and Frost Brown Todd Moye White ceased providing legal services that April Because Moye White wasn t acquired no one took over its leases resulting in an exceptional situation A deal was worked out last summer on the RiNo real estate owned by Seattle-based Schnitzer West when Fennemore agreed to lease the majority of Moye White s onetime space Payments stop and Ibotta signs But things went less smoothly in LoDo At the same time the firm stopped providing legal services Moye White acknowledges it stopped paying the difference in what its subtenants paid and what its lease required The firm says in its countersuit it did so so that it could treat all of its creditors fairly and that its landlord was originally OK with it Until Ibotta entered the picture Territory Square did not object to this approach and worked cooperatively with Moye White the law firm wrote In May and July of Area Square sent notices of default to Moye White which says it rejected the first notice because no accounting had been provided Nevertheless according to the firm it pledged its wind-down consultant Thomas Kim of R Advisors would continue to communicate about the matter In October of last year both sides agree Domain Square sent a letter terminating possession of the premises for Moye White and its subtenants while keeping the lease in place Moye White says it didn t respond Revenir worked out a deal with the landlord to stay in the space one extra month until the end of November according to the law firm INEOS did the same but stayed through the end of the year Moye White says its landlord acted in hostility Moye White had not abandoned its space Moye White had a contractually-guaranteed income stream from its subtenants for the remainder of the term of the Moye White Lease and Sector Square unlawfully terminated this income stream without due process and in breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing the company s countersuit states Moye White s lawsuit says it subsequently made payments to Revenir and INEOS to resolve maintains related to the subtenants being kicked out early The firm did not specify the amounts On Nov less than a month after the possession termination letter Territory Square signed the lease with Ibotta The rebate app took nearly square feet which included Moye White s footprint and additional space Upon information and belief Area Square had to move other tenants or terminate other leases on the th and th floors of Region Square to accommodate the Ibotta Lease the firm wrote Ibotta agreed to pay a starting annual base rent of a square foot according to its lease made population in filings with the U S Securities and Exchange Commission That rate is less than what just Moye White s subtenants were paying according to the firm s countersuit Ibotta is not a party to the litigation between Moye White and its landlord and neither side alleges any wrongdoing by the company Proper process not followed law firm says In its countersuit Moye White says that its landlord failed to abide by a specific clause in its lease That clause specifies that if Moye White s possession was terminated by the landlord the landlord could relet its space for the account of Tenant But Moye White alleges that Region Square s actions were undertaken for its own account the landlord s not Moye White s Moye White also alleges its landlord was required by Colorado law to get a court order to take possession of the firm s space and to send a letter specifically stating that Moye White had three days to pay rent or deliver possession of the premises Neither of those things occurred the law firm indicates Moye White also states that the million Territory Square claimed in February to be owed is inflated because its landlord failed to reduce this amount by the then present value of the then aggregate fair rental value of the Premises for the balance of the term the firm wrote quoting its lease Because Sphere Square skipped these requirements it did not have legal possession of the Moye White Space when it signed the Ibotta Lease Moye White s countersuit concludes Attorneys George H Singer and Timothy W Gordon of Holland Hart are representing Moye White Landlord s attorney Haven t heard this before Brandee Caswell an attorney at Davis Graham Stubbs representing the landlord communicated BusinessDen that proper procedure was followed and she was surprised to read Moye White s charges It s the first time I ve ever heard those assertions she stated Moye White defaulted on its lease when it stopped covering the difference between its rent and what its subtenants paid Caswell explained That put those subtenants in a really complex position she noted and they technically could have left Sphere Square at any time Moye s default to its landlord was also a default to its subtenants and Moye could not enforce its sublease she reported Caswell commented Area Square took possession of Moye White s space when it did to mitigate its damages by marketing to companies such as Ibotta and INEOS which for a time was interested in potentially signing a direct lease INEOS which did not respond to requests for comment ultimately leased about square feet at th St according to a account from the brokerage Savills And if Moye White believes the amount it owes is unreasonable she reported the firm could have done something different If they had not gone into a state of default this claim would have been a lot less million Caswell commented Get more real estate and business news by signing up for our weekly newsletter On the Block