Court judge and pay the $52,500 he owes in five months rent to his landlord.

Acting Puisne Judge Narinder K. Hargun also told him to remain current with rent payments.

But Anton Duzevic and the Romanoff Restaurant's owner, Bermuda Business Club, has also been given permission to mount a defence against the rent charges, that they withheld because of problems with the premises at the Imperial Building on the corner of Burnaby and Church Streets. They are represented by Jan Woloniecki.

The building's owner, The Imperial Hotel Company Ltd. applied to the court for summary judgement against the defendants for the rent, an order terminating the existing lease and an order for possession of the property.

It is the third time Imperial has taken Romanoff's to court for possession.

The city landowner is represented by David Kessaram.

Romanoff's has been at the location since February 1983. The differences between landlord and tenant spilled over into the Supreme Court back in 1992 and again in 1993. Yet the two parties still signed another six-year lease in June 1994.

The restaurant claimed the rent for the period was withheld because certain covenants of the agreement between the two parties were breached by the landlord.

The defendant claimed that the owner failed to maintain the outside main walls and the roof of the building in good repair, resulting in water leakage through the roof and exterior walls into the interior of the restaurant, causing damage to the ceiling tiles, furnishings and wall papers, necessitating frequent repairs by the defendant.

The restaurant further alleges that in January 1995, water leakage flooded the restaurant, resulting in the business closing for an evening in order for the water to be pumped out.

Mr. Duzevic said that because of the water leakage, the building's owners were liable for damages in "a sum exceeding $100,000'' representing the cost of repairs, loss of profit due to the period of closure of the restaurant, and the diminution in the market value of the premises engendered by the lack of repair, or alternatively, the cost of carrying out repairs.

He also alleged that the building's owner was in breach of section 114 of the Companies Act and has no power to carry on business of any kind in Bermuda.

Mr. Duzevic also complained about the clientele of another tenant, Fortune Corner, a betting shop that he said gives rise to noise and disturbance. He claimed that the betting shop's clientele continuously dirtied the entrance to the restaurant, making for a shabby appearance, even with ongoing attempts to clear the garbage away.

He said that he is losing customers as a result of this, and suffering a substantial loss of profit.

The building's owner takes issue with the allegations of noise and said that no independent proof of the "exaggerated claims'' has been provided except for the assertions made by Mr. Duzevic.

The acting Puisne Judge conceded he had no way of assessing the validity of the $100,000-cross claim by Mr. Duzevic. He provided leave for the restaurant to defend the proceedings, provided it pays the monthly rent due.

RESTAURANT EAT