A-B Files Suit Against Chicago Homeowner Over Rooftop Signage
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A-B Files Suit Against Chicago Homeowner
Over Blocked Rooftop Signage |
Anheuser-Busch (A-B) Thursday filed a lawsuit in Cook County (IL) Circuit Court asking a judge to make Chicago club owner Tom Gramatis take down a tarp that he "'unceremoniously draped' over ... a huge Budweiser billboard covering the roof of a home" just beyond the Wrigley Field left-field wall, according to Shamus Toomey of the CHICAGO SUN-TIMES. Gramatis, who bought the house in June for $8.35M, "covered up the billboard Wednesday after voiding Bud's $347,287.50-a-year lease amid a contract feud" with the brewery. Gramatis also announced that the space "is for rent." A-B in its lawsuit, set to be heard Friday, is seeking to "reinstate the lease, which was to expire in February." The lawsuit states, "There is simply no way of measuring the harm that [A-B] will incur if it is deprived of its coveted and exclusive right to display its advertisement to such a large audience." Gramatis said that A-B was "late on its quarterly payment earlier this month," so his lawyers "sent a five-day notice and then terminated the lease after not getting paid within that time frame." The Cubs, who "sparred with Gramatis earlier this year over profit-sharing from his three other rooftop clubs, appear to want the Budweiser sign back." Cubs Senior VP/Community Affairs Mike Lufrano said A-B "has been a tremendous sponsor of the Cubs for many years, and we hope they'll be able to work out any issues" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 9/19). The lawsuit indicated that Gramatis "failed to send an invoice for September's lease payment to the Chicago office" of A-B Dir of Marketing Jef Schmidt. Schmidt "contacted [Gramatis'] attorney, who then faxed an invoice, but the letter lacked a contact phone, fax and federal tax identification number needed before a check could be cut" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 9/19).
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