Whole Foods and their landlord Wical LP have been in settlement talks for a while regarding the Glover Park store, and it now looks like an announcement might come in the next two weeks. Back on January 24th the judge issued an opinion (see blog post here) in which he declared that Whole Foods was not in default of their lease. This opinion favored the case of Whole Foods and undermined the central premise of the landlord's case for eviction.
After Judge Royce Lamberth's opinion was released, Whole Foods requested on February 13th that the court escrow any further rent payments until the case is decided. Wical requested an extension of the deadline for responding to that motion, acknowledging that they were in talks with Whole Foods on settlement options. On March 12th, Wical requested a second extension of the deadline for filing a response until March 27th and reiterated that:
"The parties continue to make progress in discussions that may obviate the need for further briefing and/or court involvement of the subject motions. In light of the ongoing discussions between the parties, and to avoid incurring additional costs in the interim, Wical requests, and Whole Foods consents to, an additional 14-day extension of Wical’s deadline to respond to Whole Foods’ pending motions."
Interestingly, Whole Foods consented to further delay even before the motion was filed - possibly and indication that the settlement talks are going well. Additionally, Wical's motion was free of the inflammatory rhetoric of most prior filings. Hmmm....should we expect a settlement announcement in two weeks or less? Cross your fingers.