Perkins says Valley restaurants remain open in violation of court order
Lawyers for the Perkins restaurant chain have asked a federal judge to order the operator of 27 franchises to prove that they are obeying the judge's order to stop using the Perkins name.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Lawyers for the Perkins restaurant chain have asked a federal judge to order the operator of 27 franchises to prove that they are obeying the judge's order to stop using the Perkins name.
Documents filed in U.S. District Court on Wednesday allege that the restaurants operated by 5171 Campbells Land Company, including nine in the Mahoning and Shenango Valleys, are still open for business and most of them are answering the phone, identifying themselves as a Perkins restaurant.
U.S. District Court Judge Jon McCalla on Tuesday granted Perkins' request for a temporary restraining order prohibiting Campbells Land Company from operating restaurants under the Perkins name, or using the Perkins trademark on signs, menus, uniforms, and advertising.
The order was issued following allegations that Campbells had breached its license agreement with Perkins.
In addition, the 27 restaurants were also ordered to stop flying the oversized American Flag which has become a tradition at the restaurants.
The restraining order includes CLC's restaurant locations in Niles, New Castle, Canfield, Greenville, Grove City, Hermitage, Warren, Boardman, and Austintown.
In their latest court filing, attorneys for Perkins say they contacted the 27 restaurants by phone and found that all but five of them answered the phone immediately identifying themselves as a Perkins.
The person answering the phone at the Warren restaurant allegedly held the following conversation with a paralegal with the law firm representing Perkins:
“How may I help you?” When I asked the person if I were speaking to a Perkins restaurant, she stated “yeah, but we are not allowed to answer like that anymore.” The person also stated that “26 stores are closing, but we are open right now.” I asked her what she meant by her statement, to which she replied: “We can be closing in 10 minutes, 2 days, or tonight, so you should come right now.”
In addition, lawyers submitted photos of the Perkins restaurants in Meadville and Greenville showing cars in the parking lots. There is also a picture of people dining inside the Meadville restaurant.
21 News stopped by the Boardman Perkins on Route 224 Thursday morning and saw people sitting at a table. On Wednesday cars could bee seen in the parking lot and customers were inside the Austintown Perkins, which continued to fly the large American Flag.
The attorney for 5171 Campbells has filed a motion to delay Monday's hearing to convert the temporary restraining order into a preliminary injunction, claiming that company president William Kane suffers from chronic infections resulting from diabetes and is unable to take a flight to Memphis, Tennessee to attend the hearing. The attorney says Kane could be driven there, but it would be a three day trip from Rankin, Pennsylvania and require frequent stops.
Attorneys for Perkins were quick to respond, arguing that a continuance of Monday's hearing should be denied because the defendants aren't obeying the court's temporary restraining order. They have also asked the judge to order CLC to prove they are taking steps to comply with the order.
21 News is monitoring court filings for the latest developments in this case.
