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Dale Talde's Restaurant Group Denies Fraud Claims Made In $3.5 Million Lawsuit
By
Nell Casey
Published Sep 14, 2017
Modified Sep 14, 2017
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Photo by Scott Lynch/Gothamist
By
Nell Casey
Published Sep 14, 2017
Modified Sep 14, 2017
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A lawsuit filed Tuesday in Brooklyn Supreme Court accuses chef Dale Talde and his restaurant group, Three Kings Restaurant Group, of fraud, alleging that the celebrity chef used resources, equipment and personnel from the Atlantic Social restaurant he runs in Fort Greene to benefit other restaurants owned by the group elsewhere in New York City.
Brothers George and Steve Menexas—who tapped the Three Kings group to run the restaurant near the Barclays Center at the site of a Tony Roma's franchise they previously operated at that location—claim that the "defendants were simply operating Atlantic Social to benefit their other ventures" in the suit, which was first reported by the Daily News.
Among the allegations: that Talde and partners David Massoni and John Bush used Atlantic Social employees' work to the benefit of their other restaurants; that the trio encouraged employees to quit Atlantic Social for employment elsewhere in their restaurant group; and that a $2,329 freezer was taken from the bar at Atlantic Social and brought to another restaurant in the Three Kings group that wasn't owned or operated by the Menexases.
After being confronted with these allegations, the Three Kings trio are further accused of asking a kitchen manager to delete information from an Atlantic Social computer, a move which the plaintiffs argue could show "willful spoliation of evidence." The lawsuit furthers that this employee was then fired and allegedly rehired at a different Three Kings-operated restaurant.
The lawsuit seeks $3.5 million in damages.
Jeff Schreiber, the attorney representing Talde and Three Kings, said his clients "deny all the allegations of wrongdoing in the contract; there's absolutely nothing to those allegations, and they deny them completely."
Schreiber and Nicole Albano, a publicist for Three Kings, confirm the kitchen manager was fired by the Menexas brothers, and that "Dale Talde hired him to work temporarily at Dale’s personal pop-up at the South Street Seaport Lab (which is not affiliated with the Three Kings Restaurant group), so that [he] would have a way to support his wife and family." Schreiber and Albano tell Gothamist the employee had "worked for Three Kings in other Three Kings restaurants for several years before he was placed in Atlantic Social, and once the South Street Seaport Lab closes, Three Kings will work to find the right spot for him in the organization."
Terms of the original contract between the Menexases and Three Kings included an ADR, or alternative dispute resolution, which means that, in the event of a dispute, parties would first enter mediation and arbitration before a case could move to the courts. The lawsuit alleges that Three Kings "bargained for the inclusion" of an ADR "knowing at inception that they will commit fraud" and with the "goal of keeping their wrongful acts from the public eye."
Schreiber insists the lawsuit is a purposeful campaign to defame Talde."In my experience, people who know they have no right to be in court—and no real claims—only file in court when they think that adverse publicity will help them and hurt the person on other side unfairly," Schreiber told Gothamist.
In addition to the contract at Atlantic Social, Schreiber and Albano tell Gothamist that Three Kings and the Menexas brothers signed a contract for a new project, Palisades Restaurant in Rockland County. "Several months ago, after the contract was signed, the Menexas brothers tried to get Three Kings to change the contract terms, but Three Kings would not agree to renegotiate a contract that the parties had already agreed upon," the representative revealed.
The Daily News uncovered that Menexases' holding company, Atlantic Yards Plaza LLC was previously sued by an employee who claimed she was not paid overtime. And an injunction was filed against Steven Menexas in 2016 for opening up the "Mama Cascarino’s" pizzeria across the street from "Cascarino’s Brick Oven Pizzeria & Ristorante," a pizzeria that had filed for bankruptcy, violating a trademark already in use under the latter's name.
Attorneys for the Menexas brothers did not immediately return request for comment.
Tagged
atlantic social
dale talde
George and Steve Menexas
lawsuits
original
Nell Casey
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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