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The Shakespeare Theatre Company has prevailed in a legal battle with its landlord and will get to remain in the Lansburgh Theatre and avoid an eye-popping rent hike.
A judge in D.C. Superior Court ruled that Lansburgh Theatre, Inc., a nonprofit that manages the building, and Graham Gund, the Boston-based developer who owns it, cannot interfere with Shakespeare’s occupancy of the Lansburgh, where it has worked since 1992.
The ownership group attempted in June to increase Shakespeare’s rent by 700 percent. The theater company responded with a lawsuit contending that as the entity formed out of a quid pro quo deal in which Gund’s company agreed to build the Lansburgh Theatre in exchange for the land he received for the adjacent Lansburgh apartment building, LTI was born for the sole purpose of serving as Shakespeare’s landlord.
In the order issued yesterday, Gund and his partners were enjoined from taking “any action to interfere with Shakespeare Theatre Company’s occupancy of the Lansburgh Theatre.”
In a statement released by Shakespeare yesterday, Randall K. Miller, the theater company’s lawyer, said the ruling should shield it from further actions by LTI.
“The order entered today provides protection and security for the Shakespeare Theatre Company and safeguards a cultural treasure,” said Miller, a partner at Arnold & Porter LLP.
News release from Shakespeare Theatre Company:
The D.C. Superior Court ruled today in favor of the Shakespeare Theatre Company (STC), recipient of the 2012 Regional Theatre Tony Award. In an order signed by the court today, the court enjoined all defendants—Boston based developer Graham Gund and a group of entities and people affiliated with him—from taking any action to interfere with Shakespeare Theatre Company’s occupancy of the Lansburgh Theatre, the home of STC for 20 years.
The lawsuit brought by STC alleges that famed Boston-based real estate developer Graham Gund, who donated the theatre to a non-profit entity in 1992, was attempting to control and interfere with the charity in violation of its D.C. charter and IFRS rules prohibiting his control, in order to enhance the profitability of the Lansburgh Building, which is owned by Gund and Gund’s company Gunwyn / Lansburgh Limited Partnership. The court order entered today specifically stops Defendant Gund from evicting or otherwise interfering with the STC supporting charity.
Randy Miller of the law firm of Arnold & Porter LLP and counsel for the Shakespeare Theatre Company stated that “the order entered today provides protection and security for the Shakespeare Theatre Company and safeguards a cultural treasure, the Lansburgh Theatre.”
There is a hearing scheduled for January 10, 2013 to determine whether the Order should be expanded.
“We are pleased that the Court ruled in our favor today,” said STC’s Managing Director Chris Jennings. “This is a victory for not only the Shakespeare Theatre Company, but for our patrons, supporters, and the people of Washington, D.C. who have shown their unwavering support during this time. We look forward to continuing to provide Washington, D.C. with world-class theatre in our home at the Lansburgh for many years to come, starting with Richard Schiff in Hughie at the end of January.”
