In the court case A166242 filed on March 28, 2024, in the Court of Appeal of the State of California, First Appellate District, Division Four, plaintiffs BTHHM Berkeley, LLC, PNG Berkeley, LLC, Michail Family 2004 Living Trust, Bianca Blesching, Scot Hawkins (collectively referred to as BTHHM), and Holda Novelo and Landmark Real Estate Management Inc. (collectively referred to as Landmark) are pitted against defendant Stewart Johnston. The lawsuit revolves around a dispute over a lease agreement for a property intended for a cannabis dispensary.
The plaintiffs had entered into an agreement with Johnston to lease his property while they applied for a permit to operate a cannabis dispensary in Berkeley. However, upon receiving the permit after 20 months of holding the property vacant and paying rent to Johnston, he refused to hand over possession. This led BTHHM to sue Johnston for breach of contract and related claims seeking "at least" $1,545,000 in damages.
Johnston counter-sued Landmark alleging that it lacked authority to bind him to the contract with BTHHM and that Landmark knew he would never agree to lease his property for a cannabis dispensary. In October 2021, following an all-day tele-mediation session between the parties involved resulted in a settlement term sheet agreement.
The plaintiff is seeking enforcement of this settlement term sheet which requires Johnston to pay $1.6 million in three installments and dismiss his cross-complaint against Landmark upon their payment of $600k. If Johnston fails any payment schedule mentioned in the term sheet agreement then plaintiffs have rights to file Stipulation for Entry of Judgment demanding unpaid balance plus $250k.