Court claims in rent row
A disagreement between a car dealer and his landlords over claims of unpaid rent is heading to the high court for a hearing on a date to be fixed.
David Scott, who owns Park Lane Motor Company in Lower Hutt, is accusing his landlords of forging a lease agreement and locking him out of the business, reports the NZ Herald.
His landlords, Manish and Sailesh Patel, claim the 82-year-old owes them more than $127,000. The brothers are trustees of the Patel Family Trust, and want the court to confirm they lawfully cancelled the lease and are entitled to possession of the property.
Scott claims lease documents being relied on in court have been forged, and that he’s the victim of an attempt to get him off the yard and seize his assets.
The Herald reports it has obtained documents filed for both sides at the high court in Wellington.
The Patels’ statement of claim says Scott started leasing the High Street site in February 2012. That deal was formalised with a deed of lease signed in May that year.
Rent was set at $2,833 plus GST per month and the agreement included a 10 per cent default interest clause. According to the trust, rent payments were “inconsistent” and by 2013 Scott was regularly behind.
They claim that by 2024 the rent arrears had hit six figures, and in August Scott was given four months to settle or vacate by December 25.
No payment was made and they changed the locks on December 16. Their lawyer then demanded $127,000 in unpaid rent and interest from Scott.
In April this year, the trust filed in the high court. The Patels want it to confirm Scott’s lease was lawfully cancelled, grant them possession, order him to pay $127,541 in arrears and interest, and damages for the lost opportunity to lease the site.
Scott, who has been selling cars for more than 55 years, is accusing the Patels of forging multiple lease documents, and trying to “extort” money and property from him under false pretences.
The statement of defence Scott has filed says that in 2012 he entered into a lease agreement with Jayanti Patel, the father of Manish and Sailesh. He presented Jayanti Patel with a “draft” lease, which he had signed but it was never formally actioned.
“There was no written lease,” Scott’s statement adds. “The arrangement was an unwritten short-term lease. There was no provision in the agreement for payment of interest.”
Scott alleges lease documents being relied on in court by the Patel brothers are a manipulated version of the draft he presented to the original trustees in 2012.
In his court statement, he claims his signature was “electronically replicated” on to the document and says expert evidence filed alongside his application supports that. A handwriting expert believed the lease contains “substantial and significant inconsistencies” and “non-genuine” signatures across different versions, reports the Herald.
Scott also alleges that since being locked out, he has been unable to retrieve business equipment and dozens of vehicles left on site with several damaged or stolen, and unknown offenders have repeatedly entered the property.
He adds the trust’s actions in blocking his access to the property breach the Property Law Act. He is seeking to have the entire claim thrown out to have the lease ruled as invalid.
Scott may pursue his own legal action for damage to his property and thefts, such as five vehicle windows valued at $18,000, a mechanic’s industrial toolbox worth $50,000 and an air compressor.
He is also seeking $1.85 million in damages for emotional harm and stress. Click here to read the Herald’s full story.
