The surprise removal of the Paramount Fine Foods name from the Mississauga Sports and Entertainment Centre property last month sparked a flurry of headlines and intrigue, but now the parties are taking their contractual dispute to an Ontario court as each side seeks millions in damages.
The myriad of claims and allegations stems from a decision by the City of Mississauga to drop the Paramount Fine Foods Centre name as of June 1.
City officials claimed the municipality is owed $1.6 million in unpaid fees under a multi-year naming rights contract for the signature east-end venue, which has a large arena that’s home to the Raptors 905 as well as ice rinks, artificial turf fields, gymnasiums, fitness amenities, a meeting space and a lounge.
Before and after the removal of the Paramount Fine Foods company name from the building, multiple statements were issued and shared on social media by CEO Mohamad Fakih, the municipality and occasionally Mayor Carolyn Parrish.
However, exact details surrounding the agreement and the behind-the-scenes back-and-forth were largely undisclosed.
In an 11-page statement of claim filed with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice against Fakih Group Inc. and a numbered company formerly known as Paramount Franchise Inc., the City of Mississauga is seeking $9 million for breach of contract plus interest and legal costs.
The municipality noted that a 10-year naming rights contract with Fakih Group Inc. began on July 1, 2018, and it was supposed to cost the company $450,000 a year plus taxes.
The company also had exclusive food and beverage operations licences for the complex. Under the deal, the company was supposed to pay the City 10 per cent of gross sales on a monthly basis.
Officials noted there was language for non-payment, including contract default provisions if there are overdue payments.
The statement of claim said there was a partial payment for the main naming rights sponsorship fee during the first year of the deal, and there were no payments for the following three years.
As of July, municipal staff said $1,659,000 was owed as of July 2022 and a formal supplemental agreement was reached in 2023. The supplemental deal called for extending the naming rights by an extra four years and past obligations weren’t forgiven. Monthly payments for the sponsorship and the concessions were required.
With the impacts of COVID-19 on facility operations, the statement said the municipality agreed to partially waive owed fees up until mid-2022. It said $574,345 plus taxes was owed, and forgiving $850,655 plus taxes. The balance owed was to be amortized and paid monthly beginning in October, 2022, and lasting throughout the balance of the revised agreement.
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“Almost immediately after entering into the Amending Agreement, [Fakih Group Inc.] and Paramount once again fell into default with respect to their payment obligations relating to the renegotiated sponsorship fee,” the statement of claim said.
“In addition, [Fakih Group Inc.] and Paramount began defaulting on concession fees owing to the City with respect to money that was being collected from the public relating to their exclusive licence to provide food and beverage operations at the facility.”
In August 2023, another revised repayment plan was requested. Officials said $5,791,555 plus taxes was owed for the main agreement and $209,000 was owed for concession sales.
“Subsequent to entering into the payment plan, [Fakih Group Inc.] and Paramount made intermittent and inadequate payments to comply with its requirements. Between October 2023 to May 2026, [Fakih Group Inc.] and Paramount made sponsorship fee payments totaling $393,300 of the required payments of $1,780,100 plus taxes,” the statement of claim said, adding a large amount of concession sales remained owing to the municipality.
Despite a tolling agreement that came into force on Sept. 1, 2025, the statement of claim said the companies were told by municipal staff on May 1, 2026, that $1,205,600 for sponsorship was still owed plus $323,066 in concession fees along with other additional fees. Notice of the agreement’s termination was sent on May 20, less than a week after Fakih first publicly announced in a video that the naming sponsorship was ending.
“Since [May 31], the City has incurred significant expense to remove and dispose of advertising and signage bearing the Defendants’ trademarks. The City pleads that the defendants are in default of the agreement,” the statement of claim said, adding there are other administrative costs the municipality faces along with unspecified physical property damages.
It also said some unspecified items belonging to the municipality have gone missing too.
On Friday, lawyers for Fakih filed a 26-page letter and libel statement of claim against the City of Mississauga and Parrish. As part of the claim, Fakih and Paramount are seeking $3 million in general damages, $750,000 in punitive damages, $500,000 for breach of contract related to violating confidentiality requirements, rescinding the tolling agreement, removal and banning of defamatory statements, and legal costs.
When it comes to payments and negotiations, Fakih’s statement of claim talked about being involved in a “lengthy shareholder dispute” and operating as a minority shareholder in Paramount Fine Foods during a time when issues were happening.
“Mr. Fakih remained committed to repaying the City but did not have ultimate voting control over Paramount and was at all material times a minority shareholder acting within the constraints imposed by Paramount’s board of directors,” the document said, noting the dispute was only resolved in December.
“Since that time, Mr. Fakih has worked diligently and transparently with the City to address the arrears.”
The statement of claim contended that the City and Paramount “worked cooperatively toward a negotiated and amicable conclusion of their relationship.” It went on to reference interactions with Parrish.
“At the request of Mr. Fakih, the parties agreed in principle to bring the naming and sponsorship relationship to a mutual end, leaving only the specific details of resolution to be settled. This agreement was confirmed through text messages and phone calls between Mr. Fakih and the mayor,” the document said.
“As the parties worked towards the terms upon which they would end the Naming Agreement, the mayor offered to resolve all issues. In fact, the mayor assisted Mr. Fakih in his negotiations with the City to help Paramount reduce the amount of arrears it would pay and obtain extended payment terms.
“Additionally, Mayor Parrish advised Mr. Fakih who to meet with at the City to achieve a resolution and asked Mr. Fakih not to share the fact that she was assisting him in this way and to keep their communications confidential.”
On May 8, the statement of claim said a senior bureaucrat with the City of Mississauga “suggested” the municipality would discount the amount owing by 30 per cent ($1,147,627 plus taxes with monthly payments over a 36-month term). It said the settlement proposal went to city council and was approved.
“During these dealings, and through a series of text messages and in-person meetings, both the mayor and [community services commissioner Raj Sheth] promised Mr. Fakih and Paramount that the City would work with a reduced amount on the arrears and a payment plan. Notably, the amount in the settlement proposal, which the City initially accepted, was less than the amount the City later publicly asserted was owing under the terms of the [amended agreement],” the statement of claim said.
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The document outlined attempts to provide collateral, but the City “progressively increased and repeatedly changed the type of security it demanded.” After the agreement was ultimately terminated, Fakih confirmed the name was being removed on social media, arguing it didn’t violate confidentiality and “only disclosed the status of the parties’ partnership, rather than any sensitive terms.”
“The City and the Mayor knew that the goodwill and public reputation of the Paramount brand and of Mr. Fakih were critical to the Plaintiffs. The City and the Mayor were keenly aware of this sensitivity and later exploited it,” the statement of claim said.
It also called out social media posts shared on X accounts belonging to Parrish and the municipality.
“Each publication advanced the same message, included the same inflated figure of ‘$1.6 million,’ and asserted that Paramount had simply refused to pay. The deliberate sequencing — repeated posts from the corporate account, reinforced by a statement under the mayor’s official X account, all within hours — reflects an orchestrated PR campaign engineered to maximize public exposure and inflict reputational harm on the plaintiffs,” the statement of claim said, adding the “coordinated conduct stands in contrast to the defendants’ private posture.”
“The publications were republished and intentionally amplified, as the Defendants intended and ought to have foreseen, by members of the public, local, regional and national newspapers and public figures.”
On May 27, the statement of claim said 36 post-dated cheques with each one being $36,000 ($1,296,000 in total inclusive of taxes) were delivered to the City of Mississauga
Another one of the major issues in the statement of claim centres around confidentiality. It pointed to a clause in the naming rights deal that said, “Neither Party shall publicly disclose or publicize in any manner any of the specific terms of this agreement or any of the information furnished pursuant to this agreement at any time.”
The statement said disclosures around the amount owing and “any information concerning the status or non-payment of those amounts.” Throughout the revised agreements, it argued that confidentiality obligations remained.
“The plaintiffs repeat and rely on the foregoing statements and allegations. By making and publishing the Publications, the City disclosed the existence and specific terms of the updated agreement, the amounts said to be owing, and the status of payment, contrary to the confidentiality obligation,” the statement of claim said.
“The City thereby breached the updated agreement, causing the Paramount parties loss and damage, including damage to the goodwill and reputation of the Paramount Fine Foods business.”
CityNews contacted representatives for the City of Mississauga and Fakih to ask about the claims filed by each opposing party.
“The City is aware of Mr. Fakih’s libel claim. We believe it is entirely without merit and will respond in due course through the courts,” a brief response from a City of Mississauga spokesperson on Monday said.
In a statement issued on Monday, Fakih alleged the City’s claim is “the latest in a continued pattern of troubling behaviour by Mayor Parrish and her office” and that it “misrepresents the facts, omits important details, and is an inappropriate use of taxpayer dollars.” He also said the City’s claim is “without merit and will be vigorously opposed.”
“How did we go from a city council-approved agreement of $1.3 million, to a mayor’s claim of $1.6 million, to a $9 million lawsuit filed weeks before an election?,” Fakih wrote.
“This is a political stunt against a man who has spent over a decade investing in, donating to, and serving this city.”
The allegations and statements made by both sides haven’t been proven or tested in court.