Anderson Pens Lawsuit: Unpaid Rent, Defenses, and Bankruptcy

The Anderson Pens lawsuit was a June 2023 federal case in which Friedman Real Estate Management, acting as court-appointed receiver for Chicago’s Palmer House Hilton, sued Anderson Pens Chicago, Inc. and its parent Anderson Pens, Inc. for $368,614.53 in unpaid rent on the retailer’s shuttered hotel storefront.¹ The case never reached trial. Both Anderson Pens entities filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on March 6, 2025, and the lawsuit was terminated days later.²

Who Sued Anderson Pens and Why

Friedman Real Estate Management filed the complaint on June 27, 2023, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, case No. 2:23-cv-00857. Friedman was not the original landlord. It had been installed as receiver over the Palmer House Hilton after the hotel’s owner, Thor Equities, stopped paying on a $333 million loan in April 2020 and Wells Fargo brought a foreclosure action that August seeking more than $337 million.³ The receiver’s job was to collect income from the property for its creditors, which included pursuing back rent from tenants.

The suit named Anderson Pens Chicago, Inc. as the tenant and Anderson Pens, Inc. as guarantor. Magistrate Judge William E. Duffin handled the case under diversity jurisdiction as a contract dispute.²

How the Rent Debt Piled Up

Anderson Pens had opened its Chicago location inside the Palmer House at 17 E. Monroe Street in May 2018 under a five-year lease.⁴ When the pandemic hit in March 2020, the hotel closed entirely and did not reopen until June 17, 2021.⁵ The retailer’s store reopened that September, but Brian and Lisa Anderson described the pandemic shutdown as lasting roughly 18 months.⁶

In March 2023, the Andersons closed the Chicago store rather than renew the lease, moved the merchandise to their Appleton, Wisconsin location, and cited “many reasons” for the decision.⁶ Three months later, the receiver sued.

Anderson Pens’ Defenses

Anderson Pens raised four affirmative defenses: fraudulent inducement, failure to mitigate damages, unclean hands, and frustration of purpose.¹

The fraud defense turned on a proposed lease amendment. According to Lisa Anderson’s affidavit, a representative named George Stanchfield contacted her in May 2020 about rent accommodations. He proposed an amendment that would waive late fees, reduce rent to 12 percent of gross sales during the hotel’s closure, and spread out repayment of past-due amounts. Brian Anderson signed the proposed amendment in August 2020, but neither Friedman nor Palmer House ever countersigned it.¹ Lisa Anderson later said the landlord side was not open to rent accommodations or an early lease termination.

How the Case Ended

Friedman moved for summary judgment in February 2024. On May 20, 2024, the court denied the motion, ruling that “genuine issues of fact remain concerning Anderson Pens’ affirmative defenses, precluding summary judgment.”¹ The unsigned amendment kept the case alive.

The court then sent the parties to mediation before Magistrate Judge Nancy Joseph on August 15, 2024. That session did not resolve the dispute. At a status conference in December 2024, the court noted that the parties had settled but that a signed release from the defendants was still outstanding.²

The release never came. On March 6, 2025, Anderson Pens, Inc. and Anderson Pens Chicago, Inc. both filed Chapter 7 petitions in the Wisconsin Eastern Bankruptcy Court.⁷⁸ Both cases went to Judge G. Michael Halfenger, with Paul G. Swanson as trustee. A suggestion of bankruptcy was filed in the federal lawsuit on March 10, 2025, and the case was terminated the next day.²

What Happened to the Business

The bankruptcy filings followed a public shutdown announcement. In mid-November 2024, Brian and Lisa Anderson disclosed that the entire business would close at the end of the year, with December 21, 2024, set as the last day to place orders.⁹

The parent-company bankruptcy, which covered the Appleton store, was terminated on May 12, 2025. The Anderson Pens Chicago, Inc. case was terminated in September 2025.⁷⁸ Brian and Lisa Anderson also appear to have filed a personal bankruptcy petition in the same court, case number 25-21117.¹⁰

1
CaseMine. Friedman Real Estate Mgmt. v. Anderson Pens Chi., No. 23-CV-857
2
CourtListener. Friedman Real Estate Management v. Anderson Pens Chicago, Inc.
3
Chicago Tribune. Owner of Palmer House Hilton Sued for $338 Million Unpaid Loan
4
The Pen Addict. Anderson Pens Chicago, A Quick Walkthrough
5
NBC Chicago. Chicago’s Palmer House Reopens Thursday After Year-Long Covid Closure
6
Anderson Pens Blog. Anderson Pens Chicago Will Be Closing
7
PACER Monitor. Anderson Pens, Inc.
8
PACER Monitor. Anderson Pens Chicago, Inc.
9
The Well-Appointed Desk. Saying Goodbye to Anderson Pens
10
PACER Monitor. Brian P. Anderson and Lisa K. Anderson, Case No. 25-21117