Hunter
03/12/24
A longtime Iowa City restaurant continues its battle to stay open in its downtown location and has filed a discrimination lawsuit against the owners of the building.
The Press-Citizen reported Short’s Burger & Shine is suing MidWestOne Bank, the trust of late building owner Haywood Belle, Belle’s widow, a bank employee, and the City of Iowa City.
The suit is the latest in legal filings between business owner Kevin Perez and the property owners. MidWestOne Bank previously filed three lawsuits against Short’s Burger from July 2022 to May 2023. The latest suit claimed Short’s did not provide enough notice to renew its lease with MidWestOne Bank. Two of the three lawsuits against Short’s were dismissed in March and April 2023.
Short’s owners filed their own lawsuit against MidWestOne in March 2023 over reported claims that MidWestOne Bank was not fixing necessary repairs of the property, including a deteriorating back wall and gas line issues. The business owners say they previously closed Shorts for a time in 2022 in order to make nearly $60,000 in their own renovations.
Last month, Johnson County District Court ruled in favor of the building owners and ordered Short’s to vacate the premises by February 10th. Short’s owners appealed and were allowed to stay pending a court hearing.
The Press-Citizen reports the new lawsuit claims the building owners “commenced an all-out assault” to remove Short’s from its downtown Iowa City location because of “something other than economics.”
The suit also claims the city of Iowa City denied Short’s a permit for their sidewalk café, which had been operating for over ten years, because of a trust member’s request.
A separate suit is set to go to jury trial July 16th. That suit, brought by Perez and his attorney, is in regards to a breach of contract and alleged malicious prosecution by MidWestOne and the Belle Trust.