Getty Petroleum Accuses Landlord of Violating Environmental Requirements

JERICHO, N.Y. -- Getty Petroleum Marketing Inc. has sent notice to its landlord, Getty Realty Corp., accusing it of defaulting on certain obligations per the companies' agreed-upon lease.

Specifically, Getty Petroleum, which operates a slew of gas stations, mostly in the Northeast, is accusing Getty Realty of "failing to perform certain environmental remediation." Getty Petroleum stated in its notice that if it its landlord does not alleviate the problem, the company plans to offset the costs for such environmental remediation against its October and November 2011 monthly rent payments.

However, Getty Realty fired back in a news release, saying the alleged default is "without merit" and it is in compliance with environmental obligations. Getty Realty "intends to aggressively pursue defaults by [Getty Petroleum] under the marketing leases and also take appropriate legal action to address the notice served upon the company by [Getty Petroleum]," the news release continued.

Today's development follows news last month that Getty Petroleum allegedly could not pay its August rent on time. As Convenience Store News Online reported on

Getty Realty again alluded to that fact in this morning's news release when it stated, "[Getty Realty] cannot provide any assurance that [Getty Petroleum] will meet its rental or other obligations under the marketing leases." The real estate investment trust followed by directing people to Form 10-K in Getty Realty's annual report to read a full disclosure of risks associated while renting to its largest tenant.

Getty Realty Corp. is the largest publicly-traded real estate investment trust in the United States. It owns and leases about 1,170 properties nationwide.

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