Judge denies JCPenney’s injunction request for Towne Mall work

Attorneys for Penney Property Subholdings LLC, which owns the Elizabethtown JCPenney, and Linnick Investments LLC, which owns the Towne Mall, were back in court Thursday morning to continue a hearing on JCPenney’s request for a preliminary injunction to halt renovations at the mall.

Zachary VanVactor with Stites and Harbison PLLC, representing JCPenney, argued that Linnick Investments owner Tim Aulbach testified that he had not read the store’s lease with the mall but still moved forward with renovation construction, thus breaching the store’s right to review proposed changes to the property. VanVactor asked the court to issue the injunction and require Linnick to send full plans to JCPenney for approval.

Corky Coryell with Wyatt, Tarrant, and Combs LLP argued that JCPenney has no ability to prove irreparable harm in the case, and said witnesses called in the case have shown that the renovations are good for the property. Coryell said the injunction would just be the store’s way of blackmailing Linnick into renegotiating their rent agreement.

Hardin Circuit Judge Larry Ashlock denied the motion for an injunction, with Ashlock saying that case law in Kentucky shows injunctions are not issued in breach of contract cases without damages being proven, and in this case damages were not proven.