Lease dispute over Columbia Falls Community Market results in lawsuit

The Community Market and O’Brien Byrd are at odds, and the market’s lease on his property at O’Brien’s Liquor and Wine has been canceled, according to documents filed in Flathead County District Court in the past few days.

The Columbia Falls Community Market filed suit against O’Brien Byrd, Three Byrd’s Properties and North Fork Intuition on May 26, claiming the Byrd and his partners broke the five-year lease the Market renewed in April 2022 for use of the property.

The nonprofit market has leased the property for the past eight years.

The Market, which is every Thursday night from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. is required to pay $350 rent per market, plus other expenses, like utilities and a cleaning fee.

Byrd, in turn, claimed the market has also broken the lease agreement — claiming the Market didn’t pay $350 in rent for the May 18 Market. Byrd also claim the Market tried to serve liquor on the premises May 18 “in a manner that violated federal , state or local regulations” which was also a violation of the lease.

In addition, Byrd also claims that the Market, through its agent, Melissa Ellis, “has made false and defamatory statements regarding NFI and its member, O’Brien Byrd” on social media and elsewhere.

Byrd issued a statement to the Hungry Horse News on Thursday night.

“We would like you to know that the Columbia Falls Community Market’s leadership was aware a week ago that the Market could not happen tonight. After months of heartfelt negotiation, we unhappily, but formally, canceled the Market’s lease last Thursday – seven days ago. There was no reason for the last minute drama that occurred today.

“I discovered yesterday that the Market has sued me personally and my businesses. The Market never had the exclusive right to use the Coop on market nights. Market leadership also refused to work with the vendor in the Coop who operates the liquor license. Besides failing to timely make rent payments required by the lease, Market leadership took actions that, if allowed to continue, would violate and potentially compromise the liquor licenses operating at our place of business. Some of the statements made by Market leadership on social media were also inaccurate or incomplete, and, I believe, were intended to damage me and my businesses,” he said.

The full statement is here.

But the Market, in turn, alleges Byrd and his partners have committed fraud against the Market.

According to the market’s complaint, on Nov. 30, 2022, North Fork Intuition, a company that Byrd is part of, filed a boundary line adjustment that removed “the Coop building and its paved lot from the Market’s leasehold property and attached it to the the property abutting it to the north” at 118 8th Street West.

Byrd and partners then leased it to a Johnathan D. Shockey, according to court documents. Since then, the Coop has advertised live concerts at the Coop through the summer, including on market night.

The market alleges Byrd then tried to get the market to sign an amended lease without the Coop property included in April of this year.

The Market refused.

A fence has also been put up around the Coop.

The market has filed for a temporary restraining order, asking the court to enforce the lease while the case is ongoing.

The Market is asking for a jury trial and is seeking monetary damages in the case.

The net result of all of this is the Market, at least for the time being, doesn’t have a home. There were a few vendors set up in the Glacier Bank parking lot Thursday, but nothing to the degree of a usual market.

Ellis declined to comment beyond the suit and referred questions to Clifton Hayden, the Market’s attorney. Hayden did not immediately return a call seeking comment Friday morning.