Scott sued over rent nonpayment
40th District House seat candidate says his former landlord is a ‘slumlord’
Groton — The owner of the building at 15 Thames St. is suing its now-defunct former tenant Bailey Agencies, whose principal, John Scott, is calling his landlord a “slumlord.”
Scott is running against incumbent Democratic Rep. Christine Conley for the 40th District House seat but, despite the timing of the lawsuit, he said it’s “not related to my campaign. This has been an ongoing negotiation for months. This is really a private business matter, nothing to do with politics.”
The property owner, Nineteen Thames Street Partnership, filed a complaint in Superior Court on Oct. 5. Multiple people are involved in the partnership, but Scott said he dealt primarily with Lawrence Chesler, whose name is signed on the lease as the landlord.
The complaint alleges that Bailey Agencies breached the 10-year lease agreement signed on March 1, 2012, by not paying rent, or “certain utilities and common use charges,” for April 2018 or any month thereafter.
The amount in demand in the complaint is greater than $15,000.
The lease terms list the minimum monthly rent as $3,441.21 for the first five years, and then $3,705.92 for the second five years.
“The Bailey Agencies suffered financially in that location because the building was in terrible shape,” Scott told The Day, expressing concern that he wouldn’t get customers if “the place where we live doesn’t look good.”
He cited a lack of landscaping maintenance, upkeep of the exterior of the building, handicapped spots and painted lines on the parking lot.
“He just doesn’t take care of the properties; he was behind on his taxes, doesn’t pay any of the bills on time,” Scott said. Melissa McGuire, tax collector for the Town of Groton, confirmed that as of October, there are $24,888.84 owed in taxes on 15 Thames St.
She said Nineteen Thames Street Partnership has set up a payment plan of $7,000 until it is current on its taxes, and that no further action will be taken against the property so long as the taxpayer remains in compliance with the agreement.
The Glastonbury-based Smith Brothers Insurance LLC announced in a news release on April 6 of this year that it purchased the assets of Bailey Agencies Insurance, which was founded in 1890. Scott now works from his home in Mystic.
Scott said that he and his landlord “didn’t come to terms for the exit when I sold my business,” and that the rent has not been paid since that time. He added that they’ve “been actively trying to negotiate a settlement.”
The return date listed on the case is Nov. 6. Michael Bonnano, the attorney representing Nineteen Thames Street Partnership, noted that return dates are required to be on Tuesdays in Connecticut.
Through Bonnano, the members of Nineteen Thames Street Partnership declined to comment or to respond to Scott’s allegations. Bonnano said their position is that the suit speaks for itself and he stressed that it is not politically motivated.