It’s a special edition of sorts, with a “landlords want their money” column, and “they’ll do whatever it takes to get it” theme.
In the case of One California Plaza, it’s a receiver, really … but semantics.
In any case, Trigild — the court-appointed receiver of the One Cal Plaza office tower on Bunker Hill after a $300 million default — accused boutique investment bank MJC Partners of owing no less than $350,000, in a complaint dated late May.
The suit is over a $500,000 early lease termination fee, of which MJC Partners has allegedly only paid $150,000. The receiver and MJC Partners did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The end of the landlord-tenant relationship — which One Cal Plaza owners Rising Realty Partners and DigitalBridge inherited when they purchased the tower — came after MJC “repeatedly fell behind on their rent payments and associated costs” on roughly 10,000 square feet of office space, the receiver claimed.
MJC’s original 2015 lease agreement was made when the landlord was Maguire Properties, per copies attached to the complaint. The original lease was an eight-year agreement, and the annual base rent reached around $279,000 or about $33 per square foot by the end. It was extended to June 2026 — when Rising and DigitalBridge were landlords — and the rent was about $300,000. (The lease termination agreement was signed June 2025.)
Jamison vs Hanshin Pocha
Next up: Jamison and its Korean comfort food tenant Handhin Pocha at the family company’s City Center on 6th mall in Koreatown. (The loan on the mall had a stint in special servicing recently.)
Jamison, in an early June complaint, claimed it served Hanshin Pocha a three-day notice to pay or quit last month. The past due rent was $71,250, per the lawsuit, which the tenant has since allegedly failed to pay.
Now, Jamison wants that $71,250 — plus, $965 per day, starting June 1. A Jamison representative declined to comment, and the Hanshin Pocha owner did not immediately respond to a request.
The Jamison-Hanshin Pocha 10-year lease was signed in 2019, and the highest annual rent for the roughly 5,000 square foot space would total about $284,000.
Hackman vs Erewhon
Lastly, a counterattack to a landlord’s unpaid rent complaint.
In case you missed it, Hackman Capital Partners is suing Erewhon over unpaid rent. Michael Hackman’s company claims its luxe Culver Steps tenant owes more than $275,000. The rent itself — which does not include other rent-related costs like common area maintenance — comes out to more than a million dollars each year, per the 15-year lease that began June 2023 and was attached to the complaint.
Now, Erewhon has responded by disputing the claim and asking the court to appoint a certified public accountant to handle it and keep Hackman from taking further action.
It seems this dispute centers on common area maintenance (CAM) costs — which is still rent, but considered additional rent in commercial real estate leases.
Erewhon’s share of the Hackman Culver City real estate CAM costs is 34 percent, based on the more than 14,000 square feet it takes up. Even so, Erewhon claims it paid. “Defendants paid all the disputed CAM Costs under protest solely to avoid threatened default, forfeiture and other lease enforcement remedies,” the counter reads.
Hackman and Erewhon did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the latest.
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Distressed One California Plaza scores big law firm lease
Hackman sues Erewhon alleging unpaid rent to the tune of $275K
