101 Cantina filed Tuesday to countersue the property owner trying to evict the Midtown restaurant and bar.
In the suit, Cantina alleged it lost business due to a sexual battery that the property owner, Pauzel LLC, failed to respond to by not providing adequate security, according to court documents.
Cantina is asking for $180,000 in damages, according to the documents.
During the July 21 incident, which occurred behind the restaurant, Christopher L. Shaw, then 34, led a woman behind a dumpster and sexually assaulted her, according to Alligator archives. A Cantina employee and UF football player later noticed the incident and stopped Shaw, who was later arrested.
Elsewhere in the countersuit, Cantina denied entering into a monthly contract with Trimark Properties LLC, an agent of Pauzel, according to the documents. It also disputed against having a month-to-month lease that expired Aug. 31 and the notion that it owed Trimark double rent for staying past when Trimark claims their lease ended.
Cantina also demanded a trial by jury, according to the documents.
Prior to filing the countersuit, Cantina filed a motion to reject the eviction, claiming that the original notice was improperly served to an employee and not a member of the business, according to the documents.
In its response, Trimark Properties said the registered agents’ address was a UPS store, according to the documents.
Pauzel’s lawyer declined to comment, and Alex Thomas, a partner of Cantina, did not respond to requests for comment.
