“ . . . before hearings one prominent defense lawyer used to take a Valium, which he called ‘the Judge Brown pill.’ ”
— An excerpt from a Thursday New York Times story on 103-year-old U.S. District Court Judge Wesley Brown, who used to be known for his temper but these days is considered a softie
WICHITA — B98 morning show host Brett Harris says he has paid his almost $22,000 legal bill to the Kutak Rock law firm.
Harris owed the money for legal help he received while he was negotiating a new contract with Clear Channel Radio and contemplating a move to his own station.
“I am 100 percent confident that by August my balance with Kutak Rock will be zero,” Harris said in June.
In a Thursday e-mail, Harris said he paid $21,652.74 on Aug. 27 at 10:30 a.m.
“We entered into an agreement,” says Alan Rupe, Kutak Rock managing partner.
He won’t confirm the payment or say anything else about the matter.
“You can ask me questions seven ways to Sunday, and I’m still going to have the same answer.”
WICHITA — Bill Rowe’s 24-year-old Willie C’s Cafe & Bar closed two years ago, but he’s now facing a lawsuit over about $25,000 his creditor says he still owes.
Pramco II LLC is a group of investors who bought the loan Rowe had on the building.
“We signed over all of our fixtures and furniture and equipment to them,” Rowe says.
He thought that would take care of the remainder of what he owed.
“It was worth much more than that.”
Rowe says he didn’t have an agreement with Pramco that the LLC would take the equipment in lieu of payment.
“No, it was just implied,” Rowe says.
“We advised them that they were there . . . and offered to assist, and they just basically ignored it,” he says. “We think their claim is without merit because there’s assets that they let slip away . . . that would have paid off the note.”
Rowe says whatever happens with the lawsuit won’t affect his current businesses, Red Bean’s Bayou Grill & Bar and Blue Moon Caterers.
“They’re really not connected in any way.”
Rowe says his restaurant business is down about 5½ percent, which he says is OK considering the economy.
His catering business is up by about 6 percent.
“We’ve been really aggressive in improving our offerings to the customers.”
If it weren’t for the economy, Rowe says, “Who knows where we’d be?”
WICHITA — Auto dealer Mel Hambelton is suing longtime business partners Freddie A. LaGreca and Freddie R. LaGreca alleging breach of a promissory note, among other things.
According to the lawsuit, which was filed this month in Sedgwick County District Court, the suit relates to the LaGrecas buying Hambelton out of a car dealership they had in Hutchinson.
Hambelton and Freddie R. LaGreca started Hambelton-LaGreca Chevrolet, Geo, Pontiac in 1989. The suit says Hambelton owned 75 percent and LaGreca, who operated the business day-to-day, owned the rest.
The suit says Hambelton had almost no involvement with the Hutchinson dealership and instead focused on his Mel Hambelton Ford in Wichita.
Freddie A. LaGreca also was involved in the Hutchinson dealership.
The suit says Hambelton entered into a stock purchase agreement with the LaGrecas in 2003 and that the LaGrecas made payments on their promissory note to him from 2003 through 2009.
The suit alleges the LaGrecas have not made monthly payments since December 2009.
Hambelton is asking for $524,084 plus interest and attorneys fees over the alleged nonpayment.
David Morgan, Hambelton’s attorney, declined to discuss the lawsuit.
Neither Hambelton nor the LaGrecas returned calls for comment.
WICHITA — A federal grand jury today indicted the president of the group that owns Hereford House in Kansas City, but local Hereford House owner Mike Issa says it won’t affect him.
According to the Kansas City Star, Rod Anderson, president of the Anderson Restaurant Group, is charged with arson in a 2008 fire that destroyed the landmark Hereford House in Kansas City.
He’s also charged with conspiracy, mail fraud and using fire to commit a federal felony.
“It does not affect anything,” says Issa, whose restaurant is at the Terradyne Country Club. “I’m not affiliated with the Anderson Group whatsoever.”
He says he merely bought a license from the company last year.
“I just want to use their name,” Issa says.
“They have a great concept, a great product,” he says. “Restaurantwise, it has a great reputation.”
Issa says the Anderson Group also stipulates that he has to use Cargill Sterling Silver meat, but he says that’s what he’d want to use anyway.
That’s as far as his connection to Rod Anderson goes, Issa says.
“We are completely two different people.”
WICHITA — A new lease at the Landmark Commercial Real Estate building at First and Emporia will bring the building to 100 percent occupancy.
Landmark and 1Point LLC have 7,920 square feet of the Old Town space, which Landmark renovated and moved into in 2007.
A new group of independent lawyers are forming an entity — not a law firm — to share the remaining 3,912 square feet on the building’s first floor.
The new group is Cleary, Wagle, Soderberg and West, which includes Mike Cleary, Karen Barry West, Jennifer Wagle, Ann Gottberg Soderberg and Stephen Turley.
Floodman, Wagle and West has been sharing space at 323 N. Market for more than four years.
With the new entity, West says the group needs more room. She says there are a lot of things they like about the Landmark building, including that the group will be easily accessible on the first floor with plenty of parking not far from courthouses.
“We need to be able to get in the car and go, and so that was very appealing,” West says.
WICHITA — Mary’s Mexico Cafe at 1930 S. Oliver is now going to be known as Ben Villar’s Mexican Restaurant.
“We’re changing names for legal purposes,” says Kim Villar, Ben’s wife.
Brent Helm and William Villar Jr., Ben’s brother, briefly owned the Villar family’s former El Mexico Cafe at 2544 S. Seneca but then parted ways.
Helm sought and received a temporary restraining order that prevented William Villar Jr. from competing against El Mexico with any Mexican restaurant other than his Mexico Cafe Delano.
This came after William Villar Jr. made comments to Have You Heard? about how his mother, Mary Villar, planned to open Mary’s Mexico Cafe at the former Crossroads Bistro and Steakhouse on South Oliver.
At the time William Villar Jr. said he was not involved with that restaurant, but Helm said he was.
Regardless of whether he was or wasn’t, he’s not now. William Villar Jr. is running the Delano restaurant, and Kim and Ben Villar are running the South Oliver restaurant.
Kim Villar says they’ve added breakfast and daily specials and are “trying to kind of revive the business a little.”