MALL TENANT NOT GOING QUIETLY; LAST GALLERIA RETAILER CLAIMS SHOPPING CENTER SABOTAGED STORE.

Byline: Enrique Rivero Daily News Staff Writer

For nearly 18 months, greeting card shop owners Jack Lodhia and Kaushiklal Patel tried to leave the Sherman Oaks Galleria. Now that the world-famous mall is forcing them out next week, the pair won't budge, making them the last business in the nearly empty center.

Not that they don't want to leave. It's just that they believe the mall's owner has been unfair to their business, first by refusing to allow them to leave before the lease on their Nicole's Hallmark expired and then by giving them only two months notice once the mall's owners decided to close it for a major renovation.

They filed a suit against the mall on March 8 in Van Nuys Superior Court, claiming that they were forced to stay - thus losing opportunities to find a better site for their business - and that management hurt their business by refusing to promote the mall.

``They've been trying for a year and a half to cut their losses,'' said Stacy Raphael, an attorney with the North Hollywood law firm Hewitt & Prout who is handling their case. ``The Galleria held them hostage a year and a half and (now) on its own terms, they're trying to say, get out.''

Among other things, the suit is asking for more than $150,000 in damages and attorney's fees.

Galleria Park Partners LLC attorney Richard Marker said his company doesn't comment on pending litigation. Galleria Park Partners bought the center in August 1997 from Dai-Ichi Life Insurance Co. and Prudential Insurance Co.

The Sherman Oaks Galleria through the 1980s was one of the nation's most vibrant malls, made famous by hit movies like ``Valley Girl'' and ``Fast Times at Ridgemont High.'' It was, like, the place to shop in L.A.

But during the '90s, shoppers flocked to nearby malls like Topanga Plaza in Canoga Park and Fashion Square Sherman Oaks, and the 1994 Northridge Earthquake caused heavy damage to the center. It has had a hard time attracting customers since.

The new mall owners intend to give the center a complete face lift, which includes reducing its overall size to about 880,000 square feet from the 1 million-plus square feet it is now and making it more accessible to pedestrians from Ventura and Sepulveda boulevards.

Mall officials told tenants in late January they wanted the center completely vacated by April 1. The long-in-the-works project is expected to begin within a few months and should be complete by about October 2000.

Meanwhile Patel, who bought the shop in July 1996, and Lodhia, who became co-owner in February 1997, are stuck with roughly $40,000 worth of goods that they can't sell, even at an 80 percent discount. About three-fourths of the shelves contain unsold cards, stuffed animals and other goods, and the floor and steel shelves in the back room contain dozens more boxes of merchandise, many unopened.

According to Lodhia, Nicole's Hallmark was hurt by the mall's waning business more than other retailers because of the seasonality of its products. Most are geared toward holidays and special occasions and must be purchased six to nine months in advance, which is why the partners continued to stock their store even though they knew the center would eventually close.

By the time the holidays arrived, the customers were no longer coming around, even though Lodhia personally called his regulars to tell them the store was still in business. As a result, Mother's Day and Father's Day cards and Valentines and holiday greetings line the shelves.

The card shop owners said the mall did agree to charge them lower rent after they drastically cut the price of their merchandise. Still, they say they lost nearly $20,000 last year on the discounted merchandise.

Lodhia said the pair couldn't afford to buy out the remainder of their lease, which he said would have cost $100,000 at one point. Now, they have no place to go and not enough business to raise money to make the move, he said.

``When we wanted to leave, they would not allow us to leave; they kept it according to the lease,'' Lodhia said. ``Now . . . they're kicking us out - it's as simple as that.''

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PHOTO (Color) Jack Lodhia accuses the Sherman Oaks Galleria's owners of harming his greeting card shop's business as the shopping mall floundered.

David R. Crane/Daily News