EXCLUSIVE by Denis Sheehan, Publisher, H&C News: Acrimonious 8 year US court battle ends favourably for Gordon Ramsay.
A highly acrimonious 8 year US court battle ended last week in the New York Superior Court with Gordon Ramsay awarded $4.5 million in damages. Ramsay won his counterclaim defending being sued by former business partner Rowen Seibel.
Seibel initiated suing the chef and restaurateur back in 2014, last Wednesday the matter was brought to a conclusion when a judge in the New York Superior Court ruled Seibel was “not a credible witness”.
In a filing seen by H&C News, Judge Melissa Crane judged in favour of Ramsay ordering Seibel to pay Ramsay $1.6 million and circa 60% of his defence fees, which we understand were $5 million. The total pay-out totalled $4.5 million.
We spoke with a spokesperson for Gordon Ramsay who told us: “The judge believed Seibel was ‘not credible,’ that it ‘appeared he fabricated evidence,’ that he received ‘kickbacks’ and siphoned money and was ‘incompetent in managing’ the restaurant.
“Mr. Ramsay was earnest in his efforts to sever all business dealings as these problems with Seibel were discovered, and we’re pleased but in no way surprised by the ruling.”
Ramsay and now ex-business partner Seibel, in 2012 opened The Fat Cow restaurant in The Grove, an upmarket outdoor shopping mall in Los Angeles.
The restaurant closed only two years later in March 2014, which saw Seibel sue Ramsay for $10.8 million, claiming Ramsay “deliberately mishandled a trademark problem” for the restaurant, and “formed a new company with new partners and then secretly negotiated a deal with his Los Angeles landlord” to replace The Fat Cow’s location with a new restaurant.
Ramsay then actioned a counterclaim, citing Seibel’s “fraudulent scheme to freeload upon the renown and acumen of celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay.”
Ramsay also labelled Seibel as “inept” as well as “incompetent and dishonest” and alleged that Seibel “begged to be included” but “proved egregiously inept in its management.”
Judge Crane as part of her ruling said: “if a witness will lie to the court, it is possible he would lie about everything,” and disregarded all of Seibel’s testimony.
The court found that Seibel had taken paybacks from suppliers and that he and a colleague, Craig Green, had also hatched a plan to take over Gordon Ramsay Holdings via an agreement with Wexford Capital, which the judge found reflected poorly on their credibility.
Also, at a time when the restaurant was failing and while Ramsay was putting personal funds in to keep it afloat, Seibel was withdrawing cash from the restaurant’s capital account.
Crane applied some criticism to Ramsay but on balance said that in closing The Fat Cow, he had mitigated the damages from a class action from employees.
Former employees had launched a suit in 2013, claiming they were overworked and underpaid.
The ruling read: “Bottom line, though the record reflects that Seibel engaged in wilful misconduct, where the Ramsay side was merely negligent at worst.”
A friend of Gordon Ramsay told H&C News: “It’s been an emotional and stressful eight years, but Gordon feels vindicated by the judge’s decision and can finally put this all behind him.”
Seibel’s lawyers have said they plan to appeal the ruling.