Lower temperatures are a special relief for the operator of a downtown Little Rock restaurant involved in a legal dispute over a malfunctioning air-conditioning system.
The weather is the second bit of good news for John Walker Jr., whose restaurant, Jerky's Spicy Chicken and More, is at 521 Center St. The other news is that a circuit judge denied a petition by Walker's landlord to have him evicted.
"We're ecstatic," Walker said Friday. "We look forward to a jury trial."
A trial date hasn't been set in the lawsuit Walker filed March 16 against Rental Realty Inc. in which he claimed the landlord violated the terms of their contract because the air conditioning didn't work, the roof leaked and some plumbing needed to be fixed.
Rental Realty countersued and said the air conditioning functioned at the time Walker took over and that by the terms of the lease Rental Realty isn't responsible for repairs.
The company then asked for an immediate writ of possession -- an eviction -- in April.
A hearing was held July 6 in the court of Pulaski County Circuit Judge Mary McGowan. In a written order dated Sept. 22, McGowan denied the eviction.
Jordan Haas of Rental Realty, couldn't be reached on Friday.
Rental Realty asked for the eviction because Walker had stopped paying rent.
McGowan cited Arkansas Code Annotated 18-60-307, which says failure to deposit into the registry of the court any rent due is grounds for eviction if the rent is withheld "without justification."
The determination of "without justification" is up to the court, McGowan said, not the tenant.
Metro on 10/01/2016