The billionaire owner of the Los Angeles Times was slapped with a $24 million lawsuit by the landlord of its storied printing plant for allegedly failing to pay rent and leaving the building in “gross disrepair.”
Real estate developer Alameda claimed bio-tech entrepreneur Patrick Soon-Shiong and lease guarantor NantMedia breached the rental contract for the Olympic plant in Downtown LA, which the Times left last March.
The facility was covered in “toxic ink stains,” “holes in the walls” and other damages like “active leaks,” according to the lawsuit filed in LA Supreme Court in late January.
building in “gross disrepair.” Obtained by NY Post
The case, which has been delayed in the courts due to the recent LA fires, is currently restarting and is in discovery.
Lawyers for Alameda said NantMedia, which is owned by Soon-Shiong’s company, missed rental payments and refused to pay six months of interest on the late payments.
Despite having a lease that would give the LA Times the option to continue operating the plant until 2042, Soon-Shiong “elected to abandon the facility” to slash costs, the lawsuit said, noting that the lease was terminated last March and that the tenant was supposed to be out of the facility — and leave it in good condition — by August 31, 2024.
But the LA Times didn’t vacate the plant until Sept. 30, “reneging on the lease obligations and leaving it in shambles and unsecured,” the lawsuit claims, adding that iconic plant was built by the LA Times in 1989 “during its heyday as one of the most respected newspapers in the nation.”
“The LA Times left toxic ink stains, torn-up floors, active leaks, holes in the walls, and other damage throughout the premises,” according to the complaint, which provided images of the damage.
covered in “toxic ink stains”, the lawsuit said. Obtained by NY Post
$24 million. Obtained by NY Post
Alameda added that the LA Times also didn’t adhere to its agreement to restore the plant to its original condition, leaving “hundreds of yards of ductwork and conduit, as well as portions of a large pergola, known as the “Quiet Room,” that the LA Times’ employees used to operate the printing presses.”
According to the suit, Alameda estimated that it cost the company millions of dollars to return the plant to its original condition — along with more than $20 million in accrued holdover and future holdover rent.
An attorney for the LA Times and NantMedia called the claims in this lawsuit “meritless.”
“Our client looks forward to resolving the matter,” the lawyer told The Post on Monday.
Alameda lawyers also called out Soon-Shiong for alleged “mismanagement and penny-pinching” as he looks to trim costs at the flagging publication.
“The LA Times’ tenure at the Olympic Printing Plaint did not have to end this way, as yet another casualty of Mr. Soon-Shiong’s mismanagement and penny-pinching. It is obvious that defendants made a strategic decision to ignore their legal obligations to return the premises in a suitable condition,” the suit said.
The plant was spun off as part of the bankruptcy of former owner the Tribune Co. in 2012, and the Times became a tenant a year later. Soon-Shiong bought the newspaper in 2018, and since then, the newspaper “fell into decline,” the lawsuit said.
Last year, Soon-Shiong said the publication was losing $30 million to $40 million a year, and slashed over 115 jobs — or more than 20% of its 500-person newsroom — marking one of the largest workforce reductions in the newspaper’s 142-year-old history.
At the time, Soon-Shiong said he was seeking a better “balance” to the paper’s liberal editorial coverage after he blocked his editorial board from publishing an endorsement of then-Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
The move sparked internal turmoil and outrage among readership, with thousands canceling their subscriptions and several LA Times editorial staffers resigning in protest over its shift in politics.
Earlier this year, Soon-Shiong offered a round of buyouts to staffers who have worked at the paper over two years in an attempt to slash costs and reorient the newspaper more to the middle.
