A complaint was filed in Summit County District Court in December against Columbia Sportswear regarding rent payments and other fees.

According to court records, Craig Realty Group in Silverthorne alleged that Columbia Brands, which conducts business in Silverthorne as the Columbia Factory Store, breached its lease agreement by failing to pay fixed rent as well as real estate taxes, common area costs, insurance fees, advertising fees, an annual charitable fundraiser participation fee and an annual maintenance fee.

Unpaid rent for the months of April, May, June, August, September, November and December 2020 totals $138,293.46. Other fees total over $11,000, according to the court documents. In December, Columbia provided a payment of $24,373 following a notice of default served by Craig Realty Group. The group claimed their damages amounted to over $149,000.

Columbia’s defense to the complaints included that Craig Realty Group did not comply with contractual notice requirements and that the missed payments were a result of the COVID-19 pandemic rather than a fault of the store. The defense added that when the two parties entered the lease, they did not think a pandemic would force retail stores to current occupancy levels and that this event made it impossible to honor contractual agreements. It also was claimed that Craig Realty Group failed to mitigate damages and that an award, if any, to the group should be reduced.

The case was filed in December and a review trial is scheduled for Feb. 26.