Crown Castle Won't Vacate Tenn. Property Whose Lease Expired, Says Complaint

James Gragg leased four acres of his farmland in Rosemark, Tennessee, to Crown Castle to build a cell tower, but with the lease’s April 2022 expiration, the company “now refuses to surrender the premises and remove its structures,” alleged Gragg’s Jan. 5 complaint in Tennessee Circuit Court in Shelby County, removed Thursday (docket 2:24-cv-02087) to U.S. District Court for Western Tennessee in Memphis. Gragg seeks possession of his property, the restoration of his land and compensatory damages, said his complaint. Crown Castle “has ignored the notice to vacate” and has continued to use and profit from the premises without a “valid lease,” thereby depriving Gragg of his “real property,” it said. His complaint alleges unlawful detainer, ejectment and mesne profits. Crown Castle “specifically reserves its rights to assert any defense,” said its notice of removal.