Paramount Fine Foods and City of Mississauga launch lawsuits against other

Paramount Fine Foods and the City of Mississauga have launched lawsuits against each other as the saga over the naming rights agreement for the city’s main sports and entertainment complex continues.

In May, the city announced the Paramount Fine Foods Centre would be temporarily renamed the Mississauga Sports and Entertainment Centre, effective June 1.

In an open letter, Mississauga Mayor Carolyn Parrish alleged Paramount Fine Foods owed $1.6 million. After months of discussion, the city was forced to terminate the contract after “exhaustive negotiations,” the mayor said.

The CEO of Paramount Fine Foods, Mohamad Fakih, responded, saying the $1.6 million number was never presented to him.

Now, Fakih is suing the city and mayor for $4.25 million for defamation.

A libel notice filed with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice on Friday claims Fakih was willing to make the payments, and social media posts portrayed the company and Fakih as unwilling to pay debts owed to the city.

On Monday, the city filed a lawsuit against Fakih Group Inc. (operator of Paramount Fine Foods) for $9 million for breach of contract over the alleged non-payment.

None of the claims has been proven in court.

The initial naming agreement signed in 2018 between the city, which owns the sports/entertainment facility, and the Mississauga-based restaurant chain (Paramount Fine Foods) was for 10 years. Previously, the complex was called the Hershey Centre, as it had been known since opening in 1998.

With files from Declan Finucane