Jay-Z’s Roc Nation sues NY landlord for ‘stalling on sublease’

Jay-Z’s Roc Nation is suing its New York landlord for allegedly stalling on a sublease agreement in retaliation for the $75 million company failing to pay its rent since April.

The entertainment company filed a lawsuit Tuesday claiming Ivanhoe Cambridge delayed signing off on subleases for parts of the building at 1411 Broadway in Manhattan’s Garment District because of a dispute over unpaid rent, according to Crain’s. 

In the suit, Roc Nation said it had made plans for three tenants to sublease parts of the space in its former headquarters and accused the landlord of holding back on signing them.

It claims Ivanhoe Cambridge is acting out of retaliation because Roc Nation stopped paying rent on the building back in late April, according to Crain’s. 

Roc Nation says it had invoked a force-majeure clause in the lease, where both parties are freed from contractual obligations because circumstances beyond their control arise – such as the coronavirus pandemic – and make the contract impractical or impossible to uphold.  

Ivanhoe Cambridge argues the pandemic does not trigger the clause, Crain’s reported.

Roc Nation is asking the court to rule that it is right to use the clause and to order the landlord to sign the subleases.   

Several businesses have invoked this clause in recent months and stopped paying rent amid the pandemic. 

The entertainment company filed a lawsuit Tuesday claiming Ivanhoe Cambridge delayed signing off on subleases for parts of the building at 1411 Broadway in Manhattan’s Garment District (above) because of a dispute over unpaid rent

The move has sparked a number of court disputes and some landlords have blasted companies for taking advantage of the global health crisis to not meet their lease agreements while they maintain healthy finances. 

New York City’s real estate market has been hard-hit by the pandemic with several firms reporting vast swathes of renters skipping rent payments during lockdown.  

Vorndado, one of the city’s biggest commercial landlords, said last month that 80 percent of its retail tenants had missed payments in April and May.  

New York City’s real estate market has been hard-hit by the pandemic with several firms reporting vast swathes of renters skipping rent payments during lockdown (pictured)

Forty percent of its office tenants also skipped payments. 

Meanwhile, Empire Realty Trust reported that a quarter of its office tenants did not pay rent.  

Roc Nation – which was valued at $75 million by Forbes last year – no longer uses the Garment District building after it outgrew the space and moved to a bigger building in the upmarket Chelsea area of Manhattan last year. 

Jay-Z founded the company 12 years ago and counts Kanye West, Rihanna and Mariah Carey as just some of its star clients.