Today's hearing is for an order to
show cause in the case, in which Reynolds has claimed harassment and unfair competition. Judge Walter Koprowski had in the past declined the request by
Reynolds' attorney, Diane O'Connell, to keep the competition out into the future.
The latest action comes after O'Connell and Christensen's attorney told
the judge they had failed to come up with a compromise after he ordered them to do so. "We had to start from scratch
because the settlement went bust," O'Connell said weeks ago. "We entered into negotiations for a long-term amicable
solution and the terms that were presented by Art were unbelieviably far away from anything that looked acceptable."
The original TRO issued April 16 was prompted by a motion
filed by O'Connell seeking
a stop to the competition and end alleged harassment against Reynolds,
who
has been in an eviction battle with Christensen for months.
Reynolds claimed Christensen wrongly changed locks on storage
areas she had
been using and improperly served her with a notice to leave her space by
April 20.
Christensen has said he did nothing wrong, changed
locks on storage areas
Reynolds had no right to use, and called the entire legal effort "a
sham."
Still, the TRO forced Christensen to temporarily close
the competing retail
outlet that opened weeks ago by Mintze Shay, a local retailer whom
Christensen has contracted to provide food and other services at the
station. He shut
her down April 20. He is allowed to reopen Shay's business on Thursday.
Last month, Christensen issued his latest eviction notice, dated March 20,
requiring
Reynolds to vacate her spot by April 20, according to a copy of
the notice. Weeks ago, Christensen
signed up Shay, who has been selling food
and drink throughout the day at a space across the station
from Reynolds.
Maplewood Concierge Company pays NJ Transit for the
right to operate its
mixture of retail in the train station. The dispute between Christensen and
Reynolds began when her use and occupancy agreement ended in July and he
notified her
in writing that he wanted to forge a new agreement in which one
entity would lease and run retail
service for the entire train station
space, including the morning coffee and food service, an
evening food
service, the newsstand concession, and the concierge pick-up services.
Reynolds, who pays $900 per months for her spot, had said she would like to
remain in the current situation, but did not want to take over the entire
operation of
the station retail services, Christensen said. Her former
attorney, Bruce Hersh contended her
agreement allowed her that right and
Christensen is not allowed to simply change the terms of
the rental
situation. Christensen said he first offered the chance for Reynolds to
operate the train station retail business as a whole and take on the extra
responsibilities,
but she declined. He said he then got Shay to agree to the
new set-up and she began to take over
weeks ago. Christensen has said he
first spoke to Reynolds months ago about allowing her first
crack at taking
over the entire retail aspects of the train station, but says she declined.
He formally gave notice on Sept. 15 that she would have to leave, he says.
By Dec. 1, he says he did not hear any response and filed for eviction with
Essex County
Superior Court. Several court dates have been set since then,
but they have been postponed because
one side or the other could not make
it. The last eviction hearing was in February, but it was
dismissed when
Christensen appeared without an attorney.
O'Connell recently took over as Reynolds' attorney and said the restraining
order was
needed to protect her client's business from alleged harassing
actions, and competition from Shay.
Christensen says the court action is
unnecessary. "This action is totally improper,"
he has said. "There is no
immediate
danger."
