Former employee and sub-concessionaire sue Malibu Pier Partners, the company that is contracted to operate the pier.
By Ben Marcus / Special to The Malibu Times
Two lawsuits filed against Malibu Pier Partners, LLC, the contracted operators of the pier, alleging fraud among many other claims, might throw a wrench into plans for a fully operational pier with concessions in the near future.
Jay Sadofsky who operated a weekend-only food and beverage service called Mo’s at the eastern base of the pier, has filed a complaint against Malibu Pier Partners alleging breech of contract, among other complaints. And Jeffrey Bonhach, who said he served as director of development for Malibu Pier Partners from June 2004 to March of 2006, filed a lawsuit alleging he was unfairly terminated from the position. The lawsuits follow on the heels of another legal battle over the rights to the trademark name “Malibu Pier.” That lawsuit ended in August when a judge ruled against Agoura resident Stephen Harper and for the State of California.
In December of 2004, Malibu Pier Partners signed a 20-year contract with the California State Parks Department in which the partnership would be responsible for all concessions operating on the Malibu Pier, including food service, retail, sport fishing boat tours and beach equipment rental. The food service concession included operating in the building formerly known as Alice’s restaurant along with two other buildings and two food service carts.
On Oct. 20, Sadofsky under the legal title Malimo’s filed a complaint naming Alexander Leff and Michael Dellar operating under Malibu Pier Partners, LLC. Dellar is co-founder and co-proprietor, with Bradley M. Ogden, of the eight-restaurant Lark Creek Restaurant Group. The complaint includes allegations of breach of contract and intentional misrepresentation over a business negotiation, which began in March of 2005.
As one of the partners in Malibu Pier Partners, local resident Jefferson Wagner, who owns Zuma Jay’s surf shop, was served with both lawsuits but was not named in it.
“It’s a sad turn of events that after completing the trademark issue there is another lawsuit-actually two lawsuits-from former employees and former sub-contractors,” Wagner said. “While I think this lawsuit will bring light to the fact that there are some deficiencies with the Malibu Pier Partners, we will eventually prevail with operations at the pier regardless of what the lawsuits state. My intention is to continue on with the pier and bring full activities by summer of 2007.”
According to the complaint, Malimo’s alleges that Sadofsky met with Malibu Pier Partners in February of 2006 and came to a verbal agreement that Malimo’s would take over all food concessions at the pier. Essentially, Malimo’s would be responsible for designing and building out food service facilities in the building formerly known as Alice’s, two other buildings and two food carts. The terms of the agreement were for 20 years, with Malimo’s paying a yearly concession fee to Malibu Pier Partners. That began a process in which Malimo’s alleges they began investing thousands of dollars and as many as 5,000 hours into drawing up plans and getting approvals for the entire food concession contract.
Three months into the agreement, the complaint alleges that Malibu Pier Partners still had not provided a fully prepared sub-concession agreement. On May 27, Malimo’s alleges that Malibu Pier Partners sent a signed agreement, encouraging Malimo’s to continue with the planning and permitting, but asking Malimo’s to wait to countersign a more formal agreement.
The complaint alleges that negotiations went back and forth throughout the summer, with Malimo’s operating their Mo’s concession at the eastern base of the pier, investing time and money to plan and get approvals for their food concessions, and growing increasingly worried about the lack of a more formal executed agreement.
According to the lawsuit, two and a half months after Malibu Pier Partners promised to send a final draft of the sub-concession agreement, they had not done so and the oral agreement had never been signed and finalized. On Sept. 1, Leff of Malibu Pier Partners sent an e-mail to Brian Kesluk, the attorney for Malimo’s, stating: “By the way and for the record, the Sub-Concession Contract that I signed and then both faxed and e-mailed to you and Jay [Sadofsky, owner of Mo’s] on May 27, 2006 has never been accepted by your group and thus I hereby withdraw that offer.”
Speaking for Sadofsky, Kesluk said: “We love the pier. This has not been done to hurt the state or the pier. We were forced to do it. We had no option. Last thing we wanted to do was get involved in litigation. We are ready, willing and able to move forward on this and we would love to have three restaurants open on the pier by the summer of 2007.”
Leff declined to comment on the lawsuit, referring inquiries to the spokesperson Mark Zuckerman.
Zuckerman said the lawsuit was a nonstory and said it was matter of someone not getting what they want.
“When people have disappointments and they file lawsuits, well what can you do?” Zuckerman said. “They put thumbtacks in the road to progress. But that’s it. What can you say? People do what they want.
“This will have nothing to do with the future of the pier and its viability. I am kind of offended by this. Talk about something that is real and significant. What about how the pier was used as a platform for the LNG paddle out? That took a great deal of coordination and cooperation and that was the Malibu Pier at its best, and how it is going to be in the future.”
Wagner, however, said he feels the lawsuits, including the trademark, are costing the state, county and taxpayers too much money and that the lawsuit over the concession’s contract will delay the reopening of the pier. He said it was his hope that Sadofsky and Bruce Hecker, Sadofsky’s partner, would be the ones to run the food concessions on the pier.
“They are very familiar with [the food business], have a good following and run a clean operation,” Wagner said. “The were a good choice in my opinion.”
“I had ratified the deal [with Sadofsky], said let’s get moving and when it came to the contractual papers, the partners failed to produce,” he said.
Wagner said he has no regrets in being a part of the effort to make the pier fully operational again, but he said he would never do it again.
“This partnership has been a disappointment,” he said of Malibu Pier Partners.
“The state, county and city have bent over backwards” to help make things work with the partnership, Wagner said, but the partnership’s expectations of making a profit in the first year were unrealistic.