Landowner sues rental car company for allegedly encroaching on property

A landowner is suing the company that owns a rental car business in Garapan that used to lease his property, for allegedly encroaching on the property and causing the new lessee to withhold the remaining lease payment of $1.1 million.

Jesus T. Guerrero is suing Ju & Han Corp., owner of Asia Rent-A-Car, for trespass, encroachment, intentional interference with contract, and Zoning Code violation.

Guerrero is demanding damages, court costs, and attorney’s fees. He is represented in the case by Charles P. Reyes Jr.

Guerrero wants the court to issue a permanent injunction preventing the company from trespassing on, removing, and converting his property.

When contacted yesterday for comments, a Ju and Han Corp. representative said they already have a lawyer in the case.

According to Reyes in the complaint, Guerrero is the fee simple owner of a 1,307-square-meter property in Garapan. In 1992, Guerrero leased his property to Insurance and Business Management Corp., owner of Marianas International Travel Agency, an entity owned and controlled by his brother Juan, for a 25-year period.

MITA Travel then assigned the lot to Juan, who, in turn, assigned his interest in that lease to Juan T. Guerrero & Associates Inc., which owns Isla Realty Management.

In 1995, Juan T. Guerrero & Associates Inc. leased a portion of the lot (100 square meters) to Ju and Han Corp. and then renewed that lease several times.

On Dec. 4, 2007, the lawyer said, Ju & Han Corp. entered into a lease agreement with the Department of Public Lands for an 11-square-meter public property adjacent to Guerrero’s lot.

In April 2017, Juan T. Guerrero and Associates terminated its lease with Ju & Han effective Aug. 15, 2017.

Reyes said Guerrero paid Juan $300,000 to terminate all of his company’s lease agreements on the lot, vacate the premises, evict all tenants, including Ju & Han, and deliver the premises to a new lessee, De En International LLC.

Guerrero entered into a lease agreement with De En International LLC for the lot on Aug. 15, 2017.

The lease agreement, Reyes said, required De En International LLC to pay Guerrero a total of $3.1 million.

Guerrero received $2 million and was to receive the remaining $1.1 million by Aug. 29, 2017.

However, Reyes said, Ju & Han did not immediately vacate the premises when the lease expired on Aug. 15, 2017. Instead, it only vacated the spot on Sept. 8, 2017.

Reyes said that when Guerrero inspected the space, he noticed that the defendant damaged his property and removed a glass door and some other related office building materials.

Reyes said the defendant right now operates its vehicle rental business partially on public land and partially on the plaintiff’s property.