RTC Restaurant Wants Boston Properties to Pay $500,000 in Damages: Report

RESTON, VA — The Reston Town Center restaurant that announced last week it would sue developer Boston Properties over paid parking is asking for half a million dollars in damages, and for the entire system in its current state to be shut down.

Jackson's Mighty Fine Food & Lucky Lounge said in a statement Thursday they were filing a lawsuit against BXP "over the cumbersome paid parking system" known as ParkRTC that went live on Jan. 3 and ended free parking at the Town Center.

The Washington Post reports that the lawsuit seeks $500,000 in damages.

In addition, the lawsuit would require Boston Properties to let the restaurant validate parking for their customers at no cost to Jackson's, and it would make BXP do away with ParkRTC, the smartphone application that is used for payments that merchants complain is not user-friendly.

Jackson's, which has operated since 2008, claims they negotiated lease terms that prevents BXP from implementing parking controls that "unduly impede" guests, and requires that BXP "must allow Jackson's to validate parking, at no expense to Jackson's," the statement claims.

“Our team has been inundated with complaints from guests who tell us that the process to use the validation system is cumbersome and confusing,” Orson Williams, Managing Partner at Jackson’s, said in the statement. “On top of that, Boston Properties’ parking attendants often give incorrect and misleading instructions when our guests seek help in getting unlimited free parking."

Boston Properties responded to Patch's request for comment with the following: "It would be inappropriate to discuss pending litigation, particularly as there is a confidentiality provision that prevents either party from discussing many of the lease terms."

Image: Patch staff