HANOI (Reuters): Vietnam's electric vehicle maker VinFast is being sued in a California court for not having paid rent for a store, according to a complaint filed by real estate services firm SPG Center LLC, which VinFast said was inaccurate.
SPG Center said VinFast had rented the premises in a shopping centre in Palo Alto from the end of March 2023, but had stopped paying since May 2023 through last month, with the total amount due of nearly US$356,000, equal to twelve months of rent, according to the complaint it filed on May 14 with California's Superior Court for the county of Santa Clara.
"The allegation that VinFast has not paid rent from May 1, 2023, to April 1, 2024, is inaccurate," VinFast said in a statement to Reuters.
"We have made monthly rent payments up to and including March 2024. We have suspended rent payments since April 2024 due to ongoing negotiations with the landlord to amend the lease agreement," VinFast added.
SPG Center said in its complaint it had sent VinFast a notice to pay or quit on April 26, but VinFast did not comply with the requirements of the notice by the May 1 deadline.
The EV maker faces two separate probes in the United States for an April crash in California when four people died in an accident involving a VinFast's VF8 car; and for the alleged violation of ArcelorMittal patents for aluminium used in the VF 8.
Two law firms also filed a class action lawsuit in April against VinFast on behalf of shareholders who allege misleading statements by the carmaker caused them financial harm.
(Reporting by Francesco Guarascio @fraguarascio and Phuong Nguyen; Editing by Kim Coghill) - Reuters
