March 31--Double Door's landlord wants to charge the music club $11,000 more a month to operate in his Wicker Park building as their court battle continues.
Club management has been paying $22,976 per month as landlord Brian Strauss seeks to evict Double Door from 1572 N. Milwaukee Ave. after the club's lease expired Oct. 31. Strauss' attorneys filed a motion this week in Cook County Circuit Court asking for $33,976 a month, effective Friday.
Strauss' attorneys argue there is a provision in the lease for club management to pay one-and-a-half times the rent if the club occupies the building after the lease expires.
The increase "more accurately reflects the current fair rental market value" of the location, Strauss' attorneys wrote in the filing. Strauss is also seeking $55,000 to cover the five months the case has been in court.
Double Door management declined to comment to the Tribune.
This issue may be reviewed by Judge Orville Hambright, Jr. on April 12, when both sides are scheduled to return to court.
Also at issue is access to a computer used by Double Door co-owner Sean Mulroney to create a letter, dated April 24, 2015, exercising an option to extend the lease term by three years. Mulroney's attorneys say he sent the letter to Strauss and included a copy with his May 2015 rent payment.
Strauss' attorneys say Strauss never received the letter, which was due 180 days before the end of the lease. Strauss' attorneys have been seeking access to the document's "electronic fingerprint" to determine when the letter was drafted.
In a filing this week, Strauss' attorneys included an affidavit by longtime Strauss attorney Howard Golden, who claims Double Door management backdated a lease extension letter in 2003. The filing includes date stamps Strauss' attorneys argue show the letter was sent after the due date.
Double Door's attorneys had not filed a response to the landlord's motions, as of Wednesday evening.
When both sides appeared in court Tuesday, Hambright, Jr. dismissed Double Door's counter-claims seeking monetary damages. Double Door management alleges Strauss breached the terms of the lease by seeking the club's eviction, and the club has suffered damage to its business reputation and loss of goodwill.
Double Door management also say they spent more than $83,000 in building improvements based on landlord assurances the club would continue to operate at least into 2018.
Hambright, Jr. said the matter is not for eviction court.
"As I see it, right now, this is a complex situation ... it needs to be ironed out somewhere but here," Hambright, Jr. said.
Double Door, which opened its doors in 1994, has shows booked into June, according to its online calendar. The club went through a similar court battle in 2005 before an agreement was reached.
