Michael Chiarello’s Estate Just Filed a Lawsuit Against Its (Now) Former Restaurant Bottega | Eater SF

"The restaurant started by the late chef and his wife is the subject of litigation filed by the chef’s estate and Gruppo Chiarello, who on Monday, July 14, filed a complaint in the Superior Court of Napa County seeking "declaratory and injunctive relief and damages," according to a family press release. The filing names former Disney studio chief Richard Frank, John Hansen, Peter Crowley, JH Capital Partners II, LP, and Monte Savello Limited Partnership as defendants and claims they participated in "a campaign of coercion, fraud, and interference to try to trick, intimidate, and pressure Chef Chiarello’s Estate to surrender to Defendants’ efforts to wrest control of the valuable assets rightfully belonging to Chef Chiarello’s Estate." The press release and court documents describe a sequence in which the ownership group filed its own lawsuit in May 2024 seeking a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction; when the court refused relief, the investors pursued arbitration, which the family says led to the sale of the restaurant and "its associated menus, concepts, custom furnishings, and recipes (among other assets)" to Frank and Hansen. In an Instagram post on Tuesday, July 15, Eileen Gordon alleges "wrong-doing surrounding this very unfortunate 18-months in which important assets were stripped from [Chiarello’s] Estate and separated from his legacy," and she writes that she and the Chiarello family are no longer associated with the business. Eater attempted to reach JH Partners, Monte Savello, and the restaurant but received no response; Michael Chiarello died in October 2023 from an undisclosed severe allergic reaction." - Dianne de Guzman