Quebec judge orders Hudson Bay to pay rent to owners of several shopping centers – Business News

Photo: The Canadian Press

A Quebec judge has ordered Hudson’s Bay Co. to pay rent in several of its department stores in the province, saying the retailer cannot take over the law.

In separate rulings issued on Friday, Judge Katheryne Desfosses upheld the safeguard order requests filed by the owners of Cominar Real Estate Investment Trust, Oxford Properties Group and Dorval Property Corporation shopping centers.

The Quebec Superior Court Judge ordered HBC to pay the full outstanding fee in multiple locations starting at the time the applications were filed and extending over a period of six months – the maximum time that can be applied l emergency order – or until a judgment on the merits of each case is made.

The decisions were issued the same day that a department store HBC to BC was closed for non-payment of the rent, and two weeks after an Ontario judge ordered HBC to pay half of the rent due in a shop of Richmond Hill, Ontario, to avoid eviction.

Daniel O’Donnell, an Oxford spokesman, says the real estate firm welcomes the court’s decision and is now calling on the retailer and its “New York-based private equity owners” to honor its obligations and pay the rent throughout Canada.

Ian Putnam, president and CEO of HBC Properties and Investments, says the company is continuing to seek a “fair and mutually beneficial compromise” during the pandemic.

The move follows the closure of the Bay store in Coquitlam after its lease is terminated for not paying rent, and an ongoing dispute at the retailer’s Penticton store, in which it refuses to pay the rent but remains open.