UPDATE: A statement from the real estate arm of Quicken Loans founder Dan Gilbert said it will not comment publicly on a lawsuit filed in 36th District Court by the owners of Angelina Italian Bistro, one of its tenants. Bedrock laments what it says is a "tenant/landlord dialogue" being "aired in the news media," and says that it charges below-market lease rates while also promoting its tenants. The full statement follows.

DETROIT, MI - Angelina Italian Bistro co-owner Tom Agosta said the real estate firm run by Quicken Loans founder Dan Gilbert wants him out of its downtown Detroit building.

The two parties are locked in a legal dispute with Bedrock Real Estate Service seeking to have the restaurant evicted, and the owners of Angelina looking for injunctive relief from the landlords.

According to documents filed in 36th District Court, Angelina contends that "CAM," or common area maintenance, charges being demanded by the Bedrock-controlled landlord, Madison Theatre Building LLC, are excessive and beyond what was previously agreed to.

Agosta, co-owner of Angelina, says that when he first launched the restaurant at 1565 Broadway St. his original landlord, Broadway Property Partners LLC, charged him less than $1,000 a month for CAM charges in his lease for the 6,000 square feet of ground-level space that the restaurant occupies.

Documents show Angelina's owners were paying about $11,000 a year for CAM in 2009 to Broadway Property Partners.

That landlord went into financial dire straits, and Bedrock Real Estate Services bought the five-story building in January 2011 through Madison Theatre Building LLC entity. Bedrock then began to renovate the structure into what is now the M@dison Building, an award-winning space that houses a few dozen companies.

Then, in May 2011, after financial duress brought on in part by what Agosta says was the new landlords’ delay in renovating the building, Angelina’s filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The new landlords then said that the restaurants’ attorneys failed to agree to a new lease agreement within and agreed-upon time frame, and this set off what the business claims are a number of strong-arm tactics by Bedrock to get them out of the building.

One such allegation in court documents is that Bedrock sought to raise the CAM costs to $9,000 a month, which was more than the $6,400 rent the tenant was paying.

The court filing alleges the higher CAM costs included charges for the 75-seat auditorium and kitchen on the fifth floor of the building, even though neither Agosta nor any of his employees had access to the facilities.

Angelina’s owners rejected those original CMA charges, and agreed to $2,064 per month, the complaint says.

A new lease was signed, with a stipulation that if the restaurant missed two payments in any calendar year or two months in a row it could be evicted. At the same time, the lease agreement also said the restaurant would be reimbursed for any over-payment in CAM charges, the complaint says.

No refunds came, so Agosta “began demanding a settlement” in January 2013, court records show. About six months later, in July, a new statement for CAM charges finally arrived, and it said the restaurant owed $50,000 per year in CAM costs.

Thus, instead of getting a refund for over-payment, Angelina's owners were instead asked to pay nearly $25,000 more within 30 days, the complaint alleges.

While Angelina's owners began protesting this, in August, Bedrock sent them an eviction notice. The “notice to quit” came because Angelina’s had not made the CAM payments, and also underpaid an electricity bill – by $27.

Agosta and court records claim that the shorted electricity bill was merely a bookkeeping mistake, with Angelina’s making out a check for $569 instead of $596, though Bedrock cashed the check without notifying them.

Another court date is scheduled for October.

Spokespeople for Rock Ventures could not be reached for immediate comment Wednesday.

Agosta claims that Bedrock has always wanted him out of the building because they “want their own kind of team players in there.” He said that Bedrock has “harangued” the restaurant for a 10 percent discount for its Rock Ventures employees, while offering no such perk for Angelina’s 25 workers.

“It’s an ongoing constant thing,” he said. “I think they expected us, when they raised the CAM, we would leave and they’d take the place over.”

Angelina's owners say in court documents that it invested more than $1 million into renovations of the building. It says it served about 40,000 customers last year, and is “on pace to exceed” that count this year.

Agosta said Bedrock, which has renovated the M@dison Building in to a state-of-the-art space with a rooftop patio, has done no physical upgrades to Angelina’s. As a longtime Detroiter who was at the Broadway Street spot before Bedrock moved in, Agosta said he is being unfairly pushed out of downtown.

Here is the full statement from Bedrock:

"We are disappointed that a tenant/landlord dialogue would be aired in the news media. We do not comment publicly on these matters. Not only do we charge market or below market lease rates but we make every effort to promote our tenants' businesses by marketing their products and services in numerous ways. We have a strong interest in the success of our commercial tenants and go above and beyond to help support their operations. We are proud of our tenant relations and track record with all businesses we engage with downtown."

David Muller is the business reporter for MLive Media Group in Detroit. Email him at dmuller@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter.