Simon Property Group (SPG) has reportedly filed a lawsuit against retailer Gap Inc. (GPS), claiming it failed to pay $65.9 million in rent and other charges.

With all of Gap’s namesake, Banana Republic, and Old Navy stores closed because of the coronavirus, the company announced in late April that it had stopped making rent payments.

At the time, Gap warned of its financial uncertainty, saying in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, “We are facing a period of uncertainty regarding the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on both our projected customer demand and supply chain.”

Simon Property, which is the largest mall owner in the U.S., filed the suit on Tuesday against Gap, which is one of its largest tenants with 412 Gap stores, which includes namesake, Banana Republic, and Old Navy locations, CNBC reported.

In the lawsuit, Simon Property is asking for up to $66 million as well as future rent payments, the news outlet said. CEO David Simon said during the company’s earnings call (via CNBC) in May that “The bottom line is, we do have a contract and we do expect to get paid.”

Gap joins several other retailers that failed to pay rent in April and May because their stores were closed during the coronavirus pandemic. In its SEC filing, Gap said the rent amounted to about $115 million a month for its stores in North America.

Retailers such as Neiman Marcus, J. Crew, and JC Penney filed bankruptcy during the outbreak and more lawsuits over unpaid rent are reportedly expected going forward as landlords start to send out default notices to retail tenants that have skipped their monthly rent payments.

Shares of Gap stock were down 2.97% as of 10:04 p.m. EDT on Thursday while shares of Simon Property stock were down 1.48% at the same time.

gap inc
A Gap retail store is shown in San Francisco. Reuters
RELATED STORIES
Coronavirus