Chico’s Covid Rent Judgment Reversed Over Failure to Notify

A California appeals court reversed a default judgment in a rental dispute between Chico’s FAS Inc. and a property owner, citing a failure to notify Chico’s counsel of the lawsuit for failing to pay back rent during the Covid-19 shutdowns.

The California Court of Appeal for the Fourth District on Monday said lawyers for Shapell Socal Rental Properties LLC breached their ethical and statutory duties and “engaged in underhand litigation tactics calculated virtually to ensure CFI would default.”

The appeals panel, in reversing the decision, also ordered the presiding judge of the Orange County Superior Court to assign the case ...