R&B singer Teyana Taylor is being sued after being accused of not paying rent for a nail salon in her hometown of Harlem, New York.
According to theGrio, a lawsuit was filed on Aug. 30, citing that the performer did not pay rent owed at the location that housed the nail salon, Junie Bee Nails, Inc., named after her daughter.
Based on the filing, Taylor signed a 10-year lease in February 2017. She presently owes close to $50,000 in rent, which goes back to January 2019. The lawsuit also states that the business, formerly located at 2330 Adam Clayton Powell Jr Blvd, left the spot on Feb. 29, 2020.
Also named in the lawsuit is Monique Taylor, although it is unclear if she is related to Teyana.
The lawsuit was filed in New York State Supreme Court and listed Monique as the registered agent for Junie Bee Nails and the BET Hip Hop Award winner as guarantor, making her responsible for the unpaid rent owed.
The lease was initially supposed to end in January 2027. The owner of the building, 2330 Seventh Owner L.L.C., purchased the property in February 2020 and holds the rights to the lease. A new tenant now occupies the space as of April 2021.
The building owner states in the lawsuit that the two Taylors should pay them $48,739.06. This includes the $358.52 rent balance as of January 2019, $44,556.00 in rent they did not pay between February 2019 and January 2020, at the sum of $3,713 per month, and $3,824.54 for February 2020. The plaintiff is also looking for other monetary relief, which includes interest that dates back to January 2019 and attorney’s fees.
On June 26, 2020, via Instagram, Junie Bee Nails announced that the nail salon had closed
at the location.“It saddens us to announce that Junie Bees will not be returning to this location. Junie Bees strives to excel as a black-owned business and now it’s time to OWN A BLOCK! As a culture, it’s imperative to expand our business standards to completely OWN the establishment that we operate out of! From the beginning of our journey, we were second-guessed and they attempted to minimize the success of a BLACKED OWNED BUSINESS. We’ve endured less than equal treatment as an occupant but we stood strong amongst the opposition!”