Carl’s Jr and Cinnabon franchise owner slapped with two lawsuits

A millionaire businessman with a string of Carl’s Jr stores in Queensland and the local franchise rights to Cinnabon has been slapped with two new lawsuits - including one for $3.15m.

Gaurav and Vishal Bansal have been slapped with lawsuits.

A millionaire businessman with a string of Carl’s Jr stores in Queensland and the local franchise rights to the US Cinnabon bakery chain and who owned several IGA supermarkets has been slapped with two new lawsuits from alleged creditors including one for $3.15m.

Gaurav Bansal, 36, from Underwood in Brisbane’s southern suburbs, who together with his brother Vishal ­Bansal owns the fast-food outlets and the chain of supermarkets, has been sued for $3.15m by the landlord of the Flagstone Village Shopping Centre in Logan.

The landlord alleges in its Supreme Court claim that Mr Bansal’s company Laxmii Narayan Pty Ltd, (Laxmii) which ran an IGA supermarket in Flagstone, owes $2.94m for breaching its 15-year lease as well as $212,466 in rental arrears.

The landlord, Flagstone Market Norelco Pty Ltd, (Flagstone) which changed the locks

of the store and repossessed it from Laxmii on February 15, alleges that Mr Bansal is also liable for the $3.15m because he was a guarantor under the lease.

Flagstone alleges in its claim that Laxmii told them that the IGA supermarket was “unprofitable”.

The Supreme Court claim was filed just weeks after Mr Bansal was slapped with a legal claim for a $1.8m tax bill by the Australian Taxation Office for alleged debts racked up for IGA or Supa IGA stores in Buddina, South Brisbane, Brassall, Goodna, West Ipswich, Bowen Hills, Riverside, Jindalee, Boronia Heights in Logan and on the James Cook University campus in Douglas, a suburb of Townsville.

And in another separate case, Mr Bansal and his brother Vishal have been sued in the District Court in Southport by a group of Sydney businessmen trading as Sun Shines Holdings Pty Ltd (SSH) who allege they and their companies failed to repay a $131,823 loan made in March last year.

Brothers Vishal and Gaurav Bansal: Photo: Mark Cranitch.

SSH alleges in its claim that Mr Bansal’s company Om Mahalaxmii WA Pty (Om) Ltd defaulted on the loan on March 28 last year when it failed to make the agreed $500 weekly payments.

SSH further alleges that OM failed to repay the entire $131,823 loan as agreed in October last year.

SSH has registered a caveat against Mr Bansal’s lavish $1.2m Underwood mansion and a second $1.3m home in Stretton, in Brisbane’s south, which prevents their sale, the claim states.

Mr Bansal, his brother and their companies have not filed a defence to the SSH claim and no date has been set for hearing.

In the Supreme Court case brought by Flagstone, Flagstone alleges it terminated its lease with Laxmii on February 15, three weeks after it sent a notice to remedy the breach of the lease to Laxmii.

Laxmii claims the termination of its lease by Flagtone was unlawful, which is denied by Flagstone, and in response Laxmii claims Flagstone repudiated the lease and Laxmii elected to terminate.

Flagstone alleges Laxmii breached the lease by failing to pay its rent for the month of January.

Laxmii is also alleged to have failed to pay its rent and store utilities from April to December 2020, claiming protection under hastily passed state laws aimed at shielding tenants during the COVID-19 pandemic last year.

Flagstone is claiming $2.94m for unliquidated damages for the loss of rent under the lease which was due to run until December 2033, alleging Laxmii either breached the lease or repudiated it.

In its defence Laxmii argues that both the notice to remedy breach sent by Flagstone in January this year and the subsequent notice of termination of lease were defective.

These claims are denied by Flagstone.

Laxmii alleges it asked Flagstone for a rent reduction in May last year, and claims Norelco refused its request.

But Norelco states in court documents that it asked Laxmii for more information to determine whether the IGA store lease was an “affected lease” under the new Covid legislation, and that Laxmii did not respond until September, and even then their information was inadequate.

Laxmii also lodged a notice of complaint with the Queensland Small Business Commissioner, in a case which ran until February 4.

Flagstone argues it only took action in court after the case before the small business commissioner was over.

Laxmii also argues in its defence that Flagstone were obliged to try to mitigate their claimed $3m loss by advertising the premises for rent and taking active steps to relet it.

No date has been set to hear the lease dispute.

Mr Bansal and his brother Vishal also brought Carl’s Jr to Queensland in 2018 and there are now 32 stores nationwide and 11 in Queensland, according to the Carl’s Jr website.

Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this article said Mr Gaurav Bansal was a director of Om Mahalaxmii Australia Pty Ltd. He ceased being a director of the company in 2019.