EJ's Eats and Drinks was busy at lunch one day last week. The Little Rock restaurant with which it shares a wall, Jerky's Spicy Chicken and More, not so much.
The atmosphere in EJ's was comfortable. At Jerky's, not even. One of its thermostats said 88 degrees, and another said 90.
At one point, Jerky's owner John Walker Jr. picked up a wad of paper napkins and wiped the sweat off his forehead.
"It's atrocious," he said.
Jerky's air conditioning, along with the roof and plumbing, is at issue in a lawsuit between Walker and his landlord, Rental Realty Inc. of Little Rock. The latter has countered with a lawsuit of its own.
Movement in the dispute now rests in the hands of Pulaski County Circuit Judge Mary McGowan.
The property is at 521 Center St. in downtown Little Rock. EJ's is at 523 Center.
The original lawsuit was filed March 16. Rental Realty countered before March was over, and then it filed a motion for an immediate writ of possession -- an eviction -- in April.
Jordan Haas, property manager for Rental Realty, said a hearing July 6 was the last movement in the case.
"There's no written ruling yet," Walker said. "We expect one at any time." He has asked for a jury trial. Walker is the son of state Rep. John Walker, a civil-rights lawyer.
"Every commercial property owner in town knows it must provide proper air conditioning," he added.
It's Walker's problem to fix, Haas said.
The air conditioning was functioning at the time Walker took over, Haas said, and by the terms of the lease Rental Realty isn't responsible for the repair.
"That's pretty standard in such leases," Haas said. "Anybody in commercial leasing knows he's responsible for the maintenance of the air conditioning."
Walker, in an interview in the restaurant, where the air was as hot as the spicy chicken, said the air-conditioning wasn't working when he moved in.
Meg Mirivel, a spokesman for the Arkansas Department of Health, said the agency's rules and regulations don't require restaurants to have air conditioning.
Walker moved Jerky's from its location on Roosevelt Road, where it operated for two years, to 521 Center St. in November, having signed a three-year lease on or about May 1, 2015, according to the lawsuit. The lease gives Walker about 3,000 square feet of space in exchange for a monthly rent of $3,000 due no later than the third day of each month, according to the lease attached to the lawsuit as an exhibit.
The lawsuit alleges breach of contract and wrongful eviction. Some allegations include that:
• Rental Realty represented in the lease "that all mechanical, electrical, and plumbing fixtures and equipment were in good operable condition."
• After moving in, major deficiencies were found, including "a leaking roof, a defective plumbing system, and defective HVAC [heating, ventilation and air conditioning] units."
• Rental Realty promised to make requested repairs "but failed to actually make any of the repairs."
On Sunday, March 6, the lawsuit said, Rental Realty "changed the locks on the leased premises and locked plaintiffs out of the building."
Jerky's seeks direct, incidental, consequential and punitive damages, plus interest, according to the lawsuit.
The lease says the company can change locks when a tenant fails to pay rent, Haas said, which Walker hasn't done since January.
"At the time, I acted on the express language of the lease," he said. "I was advised by my attorney that the civil thing to do was to let them back in and go back to court" for the writ of possession. A fairly quick ruling was expected, he said, but nothing has happened yet.
Haas said another issue is the smoke generated by the restaurant's smokers. A smoker fire April 27 resulted in a call to the Little Rock Fire Department and forced the brief closure of both Jerky's and EJ's after sprinklers activated in both. Lt. Edwin Woolf said the Fire Department has been called to 521 Center St. nine times this year.
"There are places we go to a lot more than that," he said. "I can't really call that a high number."
The Health Department inspected Jerky's once this year, on July 27. The restaurant was out of compliance with only one of 27 risk factors, according to a copy of the report.
Mirivel said the Health Department tried to arrange a meeting recently between Walker, Haas and the department to clarify regulations about food service. She said Walker asked to take his attorney, but since no other party would have legal representation, the meeting was canceled.
The next move is up to the court.
"We try to do our best to work through this and provide as much of a comfortable environment as we possibly can until something breaks, whether it's a ruling from court or the weather becoming cooler," Walker said. He said his business is down 65 percent to 70 percent.
Rental Realty waits, too.
"To be totally frank," Haas said, "I've been in and out of court several times but have never been in a situation like this. What we want is for Walker to be evicted until the trial. He's not paying rent. He needs to vacate the premises."
Haas added, "It's an absolute nightmare scenario for a property manager."
Metro on 09/06/2016