A lot has happened since an owner of Blue Fox Cellars filed a complaint against their Carmel Valley landlord and neighbor, Pelio Estate – although none of it has taken place in a courtroom.
Blue Fox began moving equipment and other items from the tasting room in late November, also advertising an “everything must go” sale on social media Nov. 22 and listing some items on Facebook Marketplace.
The process was not without acrimony, although again not from Blue Fox’s Carmel Valley landlord. On Dec. 5, a man purporting to be the owner of the moving company took to online sites with detailed posts alleging that owners Julia Keller and Edward Lovaas had paid only a portion of what was owed for his crew’s services.
Junk – storage bins, buckets, kitchen and winery appliances, signs and more – began piling up on the grounds and porch of Blue Fox’s Monterey tasting room on Wave Street near Cannery Row.
On Dec. 23, an apparent note to the owners of Blue Fox was taped inside the window of the front door declaring, in part, “We are enjoying some family time.”
Blue Fox’s Keller and co-plaintiff DrJChardonnay filed suit in Monterey County Superior Court in October alleging that Pelio and Pilot Road – an entity established by Pelio to maintain the lease with Blue Fox – acted to “strangle plaintiffs’ business.”
Calls and messages to both Blue Fox and Pelio were not been returned by deadline. Real estate attorney Brian Liddicoat, representing Blue Fox in the Carmel Valley case, says he is unaware of anything to do with the Monterey tasting room.
A court hearing regarding the complaint is scheduled for Feb. 24.