Kindred Healthcare Inc. is claiming victory after the New York Supreme Court ruled that the nursing home chain does not have to turn over fair market rental appraisals to its main landlord, Ventas Inc.
The court instead ruled that Kindred has to provide Ventas with all the information provided to Kindred’s appraisers in connection with appraisal reports on the 225 properties Ventas leases to Kindred. Kindred claims it has previously offered to share with Ventas any underlying information about the leased properties.
Ventas and Kindred are locked in an extremely high stakes battle over proposed rent increases. The dispute could lead to a very closely watched round of arbitration.
Ventas also appeared pleased by the latest court ruling, even though the court did not grant the real estate investment trust entitlement to the appraisals. Still, the court expects “full transparency,” according to Ventas.
Last month Ventas demanded that Kindred offer all appraisal reports related to Ventas facilities. Kindred refused to provide the information and sought an injunction against Ventas. In May, Ventas disclosed it intended to increase aggregate base rents under the leases by $111 million — to $317 million per year.
