Peter Thomas, the ex-husband of former Real Housewives of Atlanta star Cynthia Bailey, was slammed with a whopping $9 million judgment for his alleged failure to open 1 Society, his “upscale supper club” that would have opened in Miami, according to court documents obtained by Radar Online. The entrepreneur plans to fight back against the ruling.
Thomas, who once owned the now-defunct Bar One Miami Beach, signed a 120-month lease to open 1 Society with the property owner, DTS DT Retail, but he allegedly failed to keep up with monthly payments on the rent between October 2022 and March 2023, according to Radar Online. The project never materialized, and the company established for 1 Society was eventually dissolved.
In January 2023, DTS DT initiated legal action against the businessman for unpaid rent and other costs associated with the property. On Feb. 27, 2024, the court upheld a default judgment, granting the landlord $9.1 million in addition to legal fees to be paid by Thomas and 1 Society.
Inside the filing, DTS DT claimed that the restaurateur failed to pay over $61,000 in overdue rent, property taxes, insurance, and other operating costs associated with 1 Society, leading to a breach of contract.
DTS DT contended that due to the breach, 1 Society and Thomas incurred liabilities encompassing escalated rent and operational costs outlined in the lease agreement. The landlord pressed for compensation totaling $9,175,189.38, covering outstanding rent for the entire 120-month lease term and additional expenses.
Furthermore, DTS DT claimed that Thomas had failed to provide the Tenant Plans within 30 days of executing the lease, which they agreed upon in the contract. Thomas allegedly refused to vacate the property when they confronted him about the outstanding rent and failed Tenant Plans.
Thomas vehemently denied the allegations and plans to fight the judgment.
“I’m going to win,” the businessman told Radar Online. “They’ll never see a dime.”
He also claimed that the landlord stalled on giving him the keys, failing to provide him “sufficient access to the premises.” He also claimed that he micromanaged his business moves with 1 Society. Thomas had plans to invest $3 million into the restaurant before the project fell flat.
The strict ruling comes just two months after Thomas reportedly lost his eviction case for Bar One, which operated from 2019 to 2023.
In January, Bentley Bay Retail, the company that owned the Bar One Miami beachfront property, was awarded a default judgment in their eviction case against Thomas for unpaid rent. The company alleged that Thomas had failed to pay over $500,000 in unpaid rent, utilities, bills and sales taxes, as Radar Online noted in a separate article.
Thomas agreed to pay $505,000 and provide proof of wire transfer.
His tenant rights over the property were also “terminated.” The order stated, “Landlord is hereby awarded possession of the Premises.”
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