After more than 80 families were locked out of the childcare facility ProducKIDvity, at The Block on Bernard Avenue, on May 29, the daycare has filed a civil suit against the landlord and property manager.
Parents arrived at the daycare to find the doors locked and a letter posted in the foyer of the building, stating that “the landlord had made the difficult decision to end the tenancy agreement with ProducKIDvity.”
According to parents who spoke to Black Press Media, they received no notice about the situation, except for a message sent through the communication app Bright Chat from ProducKIDvity staff.
However, ProducKIDvity CEO Alexandra Carnio said she also received no notice, claiming she opened her email on Friday, May 29 at 5:15 a.m. to find a message from Colliers Commercial Real Estate Services, reporting that her business was being served a notice to quit and would have five days or until June 8 to vacate the premises.
Now, ProducKIDvity is taking its claims to the court.
On June 2, a notice of civil claim was filed by ProducKIDvity against Bernard Block Office LP and Colliers Macaulay Nicolls Inc., alleging negligence, breach of contract, defamation and special damages.
The suit claims that a flood occurred on or about Dec. 23, 2024, and water issues rendered 75 per cent of the sixth floor, where ProducKIDvity is located, “unusable for approximately three months and rendered the largest classroom, the Balsam Room, unfit for use, forcing its closure for approximately 17 months and reducing the plaintiff’s licensed capacity and revenue.”
The plaintiff claimed it repeatedly raised its entitlement to abatement with the defendants, with the landlord granting only one month of abatement. The civil suit alleges that the plaintiff’s losses arising from the “flood and the landlord’s failure to repair, presently estimated at not less than $1,201,742.”
Yet, in the letter posted in the foyer of The Block, Colliers wrote the following:
“Throughout this process, the landlord made every effort to be patient, accommodating, and solution-oriented. This decision was not made lightly.”
Colliers claims the tenant, ProducKIDvity, under the “daycare lease, failed to pay its annual base rent, additional rent, goods and services tax and other amounts as and when due.”
The lease letter posted in the foyer is dated May 24, giving Carnio five days’ written notice to cure the default.
In response, the suit claims that on or about May 26, the plaintiff delivered a certified bank draft to the landlord for $34,897.76, which is the amount the landlord alleges to be owing. However, “Colliers, acting as agent for the landlord, advised the plaintiff that the said funds would not be accepted, and returned the bank draft.”
The civil suit also claims defamation, stating Colliers published a notice in the entrance to the premises at 1499 St. Paul St., which was visible to parents and said that the plaintiff was “no longer in operation.”
The plaintiff alleges this notice was false and the lockout was wrongful, and as a consequence of the closures and the lockout, is seeking an amount exceeding $150,000.”
In regard to defamation, the suit alleges reputational harm, “including as a result of the false notice and the consequent withdrawal of children from the plaintiff’s other locations by families fearing instability.”
The landlord and Colliers each owed the plaintiff a duty of care in relation in relation to the maintenance, repair and safe operation of the building, including its building envelope and life safety systems, claims the suit and is therefore citing negligence.
ProducKIDvity had signed a 15-year lease with Mission Group and Nicola Wealth to provide childcare and co-work spaces in the Bernard Block in 2023.
The defendants have not yet filed a response.
None of the allegations has been proven in court.