Holly Hill Mall’s owners have been awarded a judgment for back rent and other costs against a small private school that was evicted last summer for unpaid rent on two commercial office spaces.
A Wake County visiting superior court judge, Jennifer H. Bedford, signed an order on December 8, awarding a judgment of $47,093.51 against Burbrella Learning Academy following a hearing in Alamance County superior court.
Holly Hill Mall and Business Center filed suit against Burbrella Learning Academy, a private “microschool,” in June 2025 to recover $41,016.46 in outstanding rent from January to May 2025, plus the prorated rent for June, on two commercial office suites (130 and 140) at the mall.
The school had been operating since 2023 out of two commercial offices several doors down from the Dunham’s sporting goods store.
Burbrella Learning Academy (“Burbrella”) was ultimately ordered to vacate both locations at Holly Hill Mall by June 21, 2025 due to nonpayment and breach of the leases, based on a demand letter included in the court file.
Bedford concluded that the mall – which had been represented during the hearing by attorneys E. Lawson Brown, Jr. and Taylor K. Squires of the Vernon Law Firm in Burlington – was entitled to the judgment against Burbrella and that there were “no genuine issues of material fact.” The judgment awarded to Holly Hill Mall also covered its court costs and attorneys fees, according to Bedford’s order.
Burbrella appears to be the only current or former tenant that Holly Hill Mall has evicted and sued over unpaid rent, according to Alamance County court documents.
Burbrella never filed a response to the lawsuit and was not represented by an attorney during last month’s hearing in Alamance County superior court, based on Bedford’s order and other court documents.
A representative for Burbrella was present at the hearing on December 8 and argued, unsuccessfully, for a continuance based its claim that the complaint had not been served. Bedford ruled that the complaint was properly served upon the defendant on September 16, 2025, according to the judge’s order.
Meanwhile, Burbrella announced in late August 2025 the purchase of a new location in Whitsett, which would serve as the new home for the microschool.
Burbrella purchased a former insurance office, just across the county line at 7261 Burlington Road and an adjoining lot for $975,000, according to a deed that was filed in mid-August with Guilford County’s Register of Deeds’ office to consummate the transaction. The property is near the Walnut Crossing subdivision in Whitsett.
Microschools typically offer much smaller class sizes than conventional private, public, and charter schools, according to national school choice advocates. Information on file with state education agencies indicates that approximately 57 students are enrolled at Burbrella.
Burbrella had received $196,072 in state funding in 2024-25 and $29,214 in 2023-24 through the Opportunity Scholarship program but has not received any state funding for the current 2025-26 school year, according to the North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority (NCSEAA), which administers the program.
The state-funded opportunity scholarships are intended to offset the costs of private school tuition and other fees, according to the NCSEAA.
Burbrella’s annual tuition and fees for 2025-26 range between $6,000 and $10,425 per student in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade, according to the school’s website.
In addition to the school’s eviction, the school’s founder, Dominque Burgess, has also been evicted from her residence, a rented townhome at Rosemary Glen in Whitsett, according to Guilford County court records.
Guilford County court documents show that Burgess initially forestalled an eviction from her rented townhome at the Rosemary Glen subdivision in Whitsett on May 28, 2025 – for failing to pay $1,874 in monthly rent – but was ultimately ordered to vacate the premises following a second eviction proceeding last fall.
The first eviction was granted on June 12, 2025 but dismissed after Chelsea Albright, the community manager for Rosemary Glen, canceled service of a writ of possession, ordering Burgess to vacate the townhome by July 7, according to the Guilford County court file.
The property management company for Rosemary Glen (DHIR-Central Carolina I, LLC) subsequently initiated a second eviction proceeding on September 18, after Burgess failed to pay rent on August 1.
The property management company was granted its request to take possession of the townhome at 2155 Rose Quartz Avenue in Whitsett on October 8, based on a judgment in action for summary ejectment (i.e., an eviction proceeding) announced and signed in open court by Guilford County magistrate judge Tamia D. Wynn, according to the court file.
Wynn’s order stated that the defendant, Burgess, was to be removed from the premises due to failure to pay $4,231.61 in back rent.
The court file for the second eviction does not include a writ of possession; nor does it state whether a writ was served or canceled.
In response to a previous story with the same information, Burgess called the newspaper, complaining that it contained “false information,” most notably that she had not been evicted from her townhome. Court records continue to show the eviction.
