LEGAL BRIEFS

Landlord Sues Tribune Publishing, Baltimore Sun for Unpaid Rent

The Baltimore Sun has reported that Admiral Cochrane LLC, the company that owns the building formerly occupied by the Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Md., is suing the Baltimore Sun and Tribune Publishing for breach of rental contract, following the office’s closure during the coronavirus pandemic last summer. Tribune Publishing is the parent company of the Baltimore Sun, which owns the Capital Gazette newspapers and several other community publications under the Baltimore Sun Media corporate umbrella. Tribune Publishing is a guarantor on the Capital Gazette’s lease. According to a copy of the complaint, Admiral Cochrane is seeking $72,530.95 in missed rent payments from November 2020 to April 2021, plus $499,385.53 in future rent owed through the end of the lease in 2024, in addition to all costs, legal fees, and attorney’s fees resulting from the Capital Gazette’s default. The lease agreement was terminated on April 2 for its failure to adhere to the terms of the contract “without any lawful justification or excuse,” making them liable for accelerated rent through the end of the lease term.

Boston Globe Files Lawsuit Against Police Department for Misconduct Records

According to The Boston Globe, it has filed a lawsuit against the Boston Police Department, alleging it is wrongly keeping secret the internal investigative files of officers accused of domestic violence or sexual assault. The lawsuit says the police force is unjustly using a law meant to protect domestic violence and rape victims as the basis for withholding records in several high-profile misconduct cases. It also alleges that the department flouted legal deadlines for answering records requests, improperly withheld records, and ignored demands from the state’s public records supervisor. The newspaper is asking the court to clarify that the law does not exempt internal affairs investigations from being released, as well as order police to release the documents.