As our business grew over time it became obvious we needed more working space. A building about a block away became available for sale.
We bought it, even though it included a feature that was for us a two-edged sword.
Ownership of the property included a contract with a major outdoor sign company under which the sign company had erected a large billboard at the rear of the property, and they made periodic payments to the owner, derived from ads on the billboard.
On the one hand, this feature was good, as it brought in fairly steady revenue stream from the billboard ads.
On the other hand, it was the dominant feature of the rear yard. It was a steel frame structure that displayed ads measuring about 15 feet high by 50 feet wide. It was supported by a double wall cylindrical steel column about 36 inches in diameter, and it stood some 30 feet tall so as to be seen from the highway.
Frankly, it was big and obtrusive and ugly, and it attracted pigeons and the mess they make, and it stood in the way of improvements we thought we might like to make in the yard. But, all things considered, we went for it.
We did not know at the time of purchase of the property that the seller was a former employee of the sign company and that he had been given a “sweetheart” contract.
About a year in, we had moved some of our operation to the rear yard. And we got to looking at the billboard framework and noting that it was ideally positioned to provide lighting to the yard. It could easily be done by clamping lighting fixtures to the support structure of the billboard (with no adverse effect on the billboard) and we could supply the required electrical power through our own outdoor connection.
So …. Having diligently scoured the sign company contract and finding nothing prohibitive of our idea, I made an appointment with management of the sign company to discuss possibilities. We were simply looking for their permission for us to clamp outdoor lights to their structure that we would use to illuminate our rear yard.
I did not envision the meeting to be a big deal, and I arrived directly from the foundry in the sweaty clothes I was wearing, having just assisted with a molten bronze pour. I was greeted by a receptionist and escorted to a conference room.
To my surprise, a team of guys in 3-piece suits filed into the room and took their places at the table. What the ….?
We never got to the purpose of my visit.
It soon became obvious to me that my request for a meeting (I had not specified its purpose) had caused someone in their organization to re-read the contract, and they apparently found that the ex-employee seller of the property had been given a contract that specified payments to the property owner that exceeded the norm.
These dudes were there specifically to brow-beat me into a new contract.
I think at least two of these guys had come in from an out-of-town corporate office. I had to smile to myself at how ridiculously out of place I, an unkempt, probably stinky working man in ratty looking clothes, must look in that room full of suits.
After listening to what they had to say, I retrieved my copy of the original contract from the file folder I had brought with me, and asked the question, “Do we have a contract or not?”
They squirmed uncomfortably in their seats and finally came directly to the point. They considered the old contract to be legally invalid, they intended to sue the former employee who executed it, and I would now be required to sign this new contract.
“And if I don’t?”
“If you don’t, we will remove the billboard!” was the dramatic response.
“OK”
“OK what? You are ready to sign?” The new contract and a pen were again slid across the table in my direction.
“No, OK remove the billboard.”
The reaction in the conference room was nothing if not explosive. One of the suits all but screamed at his colleagues, “We are in business to ERECT billboards, NOT tear them down!”
Bottom line: About two months later a crew arrived (without notice) with their heavy equipment and dismantled and removed the billboard.
Good riddance.
Illegitimi non carborundum.
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