Louisiana Attorneys- Baton Rouge Law Firm

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SoGo Live must leave Belle of BR
By Chad Calder
Advocate Business Writer
June 17, 2006

The owners of the downtown music club SoGo Live on Friday appealed a ruling that it cannot wait until a financial dispute with its landlord is resolved before vacating its spot in the Belle of Baton Rouge atrium.

The appeal would suspend U.S. 19th Judicial District Judge Tim Kelley’s decision earlier in the day to grant Jazz Enterprises Inc. possession of the space the club occupies in atrium.

Kelley also threw out Jazz’s claim that SoGo owner Live Music Establishment LLC did not renew the club’s lease in time.

Jazz dropped its own claims that SoGo didn’t pay rent for two months, acknowledging in court it had received the checks but did not cash them.

Jazz is owned by Belle of Baton Rouge operator Columbia Sussex Inc.

Kelley said the dispute over how much money Jazz owes SoGo for terminating its lease early is a separate matter.

However, he said the early termination clause Jazz cited when it ordered SoGo out last month doesn’t explicitly say payment must be made first.

He said that unless specified otherwise, Louisiana law states that payments must be made in a reasonable amount of time. If a tenant was allowed to stay until payment is received, the tenant could effectively deny the landlord its right to terminate a lease by objecting to any amount proffered, Kelley said.

Jazz and SoGo’s disagreement as to how much SoGo is owed continues. SoGo contends Jazz owes it $336,492; Jazz says the figure is $105,019.

SoGo attorney Stephen Babcock said he plans to file a lawsuit on behalf of Live Music Establishment against Jazz next week for payment of the $336,492.

Babcock said his client still contends the payment is a prerequisite for SoGo’s departure from the atrium. He said the appeal would suspend Kelley’s judgment until the matter is taken up again.

Babcock also said SoGo’s business has been hurt by media reports containing Jazz’s allegations that SoGo had not paid two months rent.

Babcock said the club was vindicated by testimony from casino General Manager Gonzalo Hernandez that Jazz had gotten paid for the rent but hadn’t cashed the checks.

Likewise, he was pleased Kelley did not accept Jazz’s contention that the club had not properly renewed its lease.

That dispute centered on SoGo renewing its lease through Gayle Carnahan, the casino company’s former governmental affairs manager. In its eviction suit and in testimony, Jazz claimed Carnahan wasn’t authorized to act in that capacity.

But Kelley agreed with Live Music Establishment’s contention, backed by testimony from Hernandez, that Jazz had accepted a prior lease extension through Carnahan and therefore could not say that method is not valid.

Babcock said Columbia Sussex didn’t start saying the lease hadn’t been renewed properly until it saw that it would have to pay to toss SoGo early.

Columbia Sussex has refused to comment to the media since the lease dispute surfaced last month, a policy Jazz’s attorney Daniel Rester continued Friday. However, testimony revealed the company had decided the younger crowd SoGo attracts isn’t consistent with the older demographic the casino pulls in.

Hernandez said SoGo’s customers were responsible for fights in the parking garage and graffiti and other damage.

In addition to granting Jazz possession of the space, Friday’s ruling ordered Live Music Establishment to pay the company’s attorney’s fees.

A hearing will be held Monday afternoon to set the bond amount necessary to appeal the ruling.