San Diego Sues SeaWorld Over Extra Than $12.2 Million in Again Hire

The town of San Diego sued SeaWorld Thursday for allegedly failing to pay greater than $12.2 million in hire, late charges, and curiosity.

The lawsuit follows a pledge to maneuver ahead with litigation if SeaWorld didn’t pay again hire and different penalties by Wednesday.

SeaWorld has argued the funds have been waived as a result of the theme park was pressured to close down for months at a time throughout the pandemic. The town mentioned SeaWorld was supplied a 24-month deferred fee plan that was by no means accepted and due to this fact the hire is delinquent.

A consultant for SeaWorld mentioned the corporate didn’t have something so as to add concerning Thursday’s submitting apart from its earlier publicly launched assertion on the matter:

“Whereas as a matter of coverage we don’t touch upon potential litigation, we’ve got loved a protracted relationship with town and stay hopeful that we are able to resolve this matter,” in response to the assertion. “We’ve partnered with town for practically 60 years — conducting hundreds of animal rescues, quite a few recycling drives and lots of different occasions.”

” We even have paid greater than $146 million in lease funds to town of San Diego since 2010. We respect all town has carried out and we look ahead to addressing this example.”

The grievance filed in San Diego Superior Courtroom states SeaWorld has underpaid hire between Jan. 1, 2019, and April 30, 2022.

In keeping with the San Diego Metropolis Lawyer’s Workplace, SeaWorld’s minimal hire funds complete $10.4 million yearly, plus a 3% surcharge beneath the phrases of its lease.

“Though some 800 organizations have related lease agreements with town, SeaWorld is the one main metropolis lessee that has remained in default of its hire obligations for the reason that pandemic started,” in response to a Metropolis Lawyer’s Workplace assertion.

The San Diego Metropolis Council voted 8-0 in Could to authorize litigation.

“The town has a proper to count on extra from a 60-year partnership that has confirmed fairly profitable for SeaWorld,” mentioned San Diego Metropolis Lawyer Mara Elliott. “Metropolis taxpayers — lots of whom are legitimately struggling to recuperate from the worldwide pandemic — shouldn’t have to soak up SeaWorld’s money owed and liabilities. We imagine a courtroom of regulation will agree.”

Up to date at 5:25 p.m., Friday, Sept. 8, 2023

— Metropolis Information Service