El Mexico Cafe owner receives a temporary restraining order against former partner

Nov. 12, 20095:20 p.m.

WICHITA — The owner of El Mexico Cafe on Seneca is in a dispute with former partner William Villar Jr.

Brent Helm sought and received a temporary restraining order from Sedgwick County District Court that prevents Villar from competing against El Mexico with any Mexican restaurant other than his Mexico Cafe Delano.

Neither side is talking, but here’s the situation:

Villar’s parents, William and Mary, operated numerous versions of their popular Mexican restaurant around Wichita over the last 40 years.

They closed El Mexico on Seneca in spring 2008.

Helm, his wife Rhonda, and William Villar Jr. became partners and reopened the restaurant that summer.

Then Villar quit the partnership and signed a termination agreement in September. The petition says that the agreement states Villar won’t have anything to do with another Mexican restaurant other than his one in Delano.

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By Carrie Rengers | Tags: , , , , , , , , , Filed under Legal, Restaurants | Comments (9)

Former Pistotnik Law Offices bookkeeper indicted on federal charges

Nov. 10, 20095:03 p.m.

WICHITA — In September, Have You Heard? reported that Pistotnik Law Offices filed a civil suit in Sedgwick County District Court against former employee Vicki Olivarez and her husband, Severo Olivarez IV alleging fraudulent and negligent acts by the two.

Vicki Olivarez was a bookkeeper for the firm from July 2002 to Sept. 4.

Now, Vicki Olivarez has been indicted on federal charges of stealing more than $948,000 from September 2004 through September of this year by writing 441 checks to herself, her husband and cash.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s office, she’s charged with one count of bank fraud and 10 counts of forgery for allegedly signing Brian Pistotnik’s name on checks drawn from the firm’s account.

If Olivarez is convicted on the bank fraud charge, she would face a possible 30 years in prison and a fine up to $250,000. On each of the forgery counts, she would face a maximum of 10 years in prison and up to $250,000 in fines.

A woman who answered the phone at the law firm said no one wants to comment on the case. Olivarez could not be reached for comment.

By Carrie Rengers | Tags: , , , , Filed under Law firms, Lawsuits | Comments (13)

Highlands Gastropub and Cardroom closes

Nov. 6, 20091:40 p.m.

WICHITA — After losing its legal battle to keep its Kandu Challenge card game and facing financial struggles, Highlands Gastropub and Cardroom has closed.

“At some point, you gotta know when you’re beat,” says operations coordinator Shane McCullough.

Last month, Highlands representatives said they hoped to fight a Sedgwick County District Court ruling that Kandu is a game of chance and thus prohibited by Kansas law. They are still planning to appeal the decision.

In the meantime, though, financial problems have been mounting.

McCullough says he doesn’t blame the media, but he says news reports made it sound like when Highlands lost Kandu, the business closed.

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By Carrie Rengers | Tags: , , , Filed under Restaurants | Comments (13)

Cox Communications Kansas sues User-Friendly Phone Book over incorrectly publishing phone numbers and addresses

Oct. 14, 20096:56 p.m.

WICHITA — Cox Communications Kansas has filed a lawsuit against User-Friendly Phone Book in Sedgwick County District Court.

Cox spokeswoman Sarah Kauffman says the basis of the suit goes back to 2008 when User-Friendly published the addresses and phone numbers of customers who didn’t want them listed.

“At the time, we made attempts asking User-Friendly . . . to take action to remedy the mistakes that they made,” Kauffman says. “We did not get a response from them at that time.”

She says many of the numbers and addresses — Kauffman isn’t sure how many — were incorrectly published again this year.

In a letter dated July 22, 2009, Cox (through Foulston Siefkin attorney Jay Fowler) told User-Friendly: “This conduct is inexcusable.”

Cox demanded User-Friendly stop delivering its phone books, recall any distributed copies and fix the situation.

Kauffman says that hasn’t happened.

“We’re really hoping that they will correct the situation,” she says.

That’s the point of the lawsuit, Kauffman says.

Heather Burrer, general counsel for Woodlands, Texas-based User-Friendly, says, “Right now we do not comment on any pending litigation.”

By Carrie Rengers | Tags: , , , , , , Filed under Communications, Lawsuits | Comments (6)

Pistotnik Law Offices sues former employee for fraud

Sept. 30, 20092:37 p.m.

WICHITA — Pistotnik Law Offices routinely files lawsuits, but this month it filed one on behalf of the firm.

The office has filed a civil suit in Sedgwick County District Court against former employee Vicki Olivarez and her husband, Severo Olivarez IV.

The suit alleges fraudulent and negligent acts by the two.

Vicki Olivarez was a bookkeeper for the firm from July 2002 to Sept. 4.

The suit claims that she forged checks — made out to both Olivarezes and for cash — from an unnamed trust account.

The lawsuit alleges that the forging began in July 2005 and continued until Vicki Olivarez’s last day of employment.

Pistotnik’s attorney, Dustin DeVaughn, declined to comment on the case.

Neither of the Olivarezes could be reached for comment.

Vicki Olivarez’s attorney, Roger Sherwood, didn’t return a call for comment.

Also named in the suit: Pro Siding, of which Severo Olivarez is a shareholder and officer; Buess CPA, Pistotnik’s accountant; and Emprise Bank, which cashed the checks.

By Carrie Rengers | Tags: , , , , , , , , Filed under Accounting, Banks, Law firms, Lawsuits | Comments (10)

Eaton Steakhouse to have Aug. 6 hearing on eviction

July 30, 20095:06 p.m.

There was a petition on the Sedgwick County District Court docket Wednesday to evict the Eaton Steakhouse from Eaton Place, but nothing has been resolved yet.

Restaurant owners Steve and Stephanie Compton have requested a hearing.

“They’re entitled to their hearing,” says Mike Roach, the attorney for MDI Partnership #72, which owns Eaton Place.

Trial is set for Aug. 6 at 9 a.m.

MDI filed a petition for eviction and a lawsuit last week to recover more than $50,000 in back rent from the Comptons.

“The Eaton Place has no choice in what they’re doing, that’s clear,” Roach says.

“The amount that’s past due in rent is too large,” he says.

The Comptons aren’t commenting.

Roach says the situation is “long past resolution” for the Comptons to negotiate to stay.

If the judge rules in Eaton Place’s favor, the Comptons will be immediately evicted.

“Essentially,” Roach says, “they’ll be out, and we’ll be in.”

By Carrie Rengers | Tags: , , , , , , Filed under Downtown, Lawsuits, Restaurants | Comments (25)

Eaton Steakhouse served petition for eviction

July 22, 20093:19 p.m.

HISTORICBUILDINGS.MH6WICHITA — The owners of the Eaton Steakhouse have been served an eviction notice for failure to pay $50,517 in rent at Eaton Place.

MDI Partnership #72, which owns the building at 523 E. Douglas, filed a petition for eviction in Sedgwick County District Court on Tuesday in addition to a lawsuit to collect back rent.

The lawsuit names Steve and Stephanie Compton of Wichita and Thomas Bowles of Augusta as defendants.

According to the lawsuit and eviction petition, SSC Enterprises, which is now B & C Group, signed a lease agreement in June 2007 for a total of $463,501, which is to be paid in monthly installments.

The lawsuit states that the Comptons and Bowles gave personal guarantees for the lease.

And the petition says the defendants have refused to leave the premises after receiving a 10-day notice to leave on June 24.

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By Carrie Rengers | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , Filed under Leases, Restaurants, Twitter | Comments (47)

Caro Ventures sues Amici’s owners

June 3, 20092:47 p.m.

WICHITA — Caro Ventures has filed a lawsuit against former Amici’s owners Daniel Miller and Ryan Watenpaugh.

The suit, filed in Sedgwick County District Court, asks for more than $100,000 in property damages and unpaid rent.

“They are no longer ever coming back,” Chuck Caro says. He says two chefs running a restaurant instead of a chef and a business person “seemed to not make things work very well.”

The restaurant was open only a few months last year before a June 2008 fire caused $300,000 in damages.

“They didn’t get any insurance money,” Caro says. “They weren’t covered properly, supposedly.”

Miller couldn’t be reached for comment, and Watenpaugh and his attorney didn’t return calls to comment.

“We’ve gone in and gutted the space,” Caro says. He says he’s “getting ready to turn it into a vanilla box” for the next potential tenant.

Caro says the Amici’s owners still had about 4 1/2 years left on their lease, but he says he’s not using the lawsuit to try and collect on those years.

By Carrie Rengers | Tags: , , , , , Filed under Lawsuits, Leases | Comments Off

Wichita Area Builders association files lawsuit over “home show” name

May 27, 20097:00 a.m.

WICHITA — The Wichita Area Builders Association has a filed a lawsuit against Missouri-based RJ Promotions in Sedgwick County District Court over competing “Home Show” names.

WABA president and chief executive Wess Galyon says his group, which has been doing a Wichita home show for more than 55 years, has several forms of the name registered with the Secretary of State and had to file a lawsuit to protect them.

No one with RJ Promotions could be reached for comment, but Galyon says a couple of years back the two groups reached an agreement that RJ wouldn’t use any variation of home show, “which they had agreed not to do because it confuses the public.”

Galyon says a WABA member recently received a RJ advertisement that violated that agreement.

“If he wants to do a show, that’s fine,” Galyon says. “But let’s be clear who’s show it is.”

By Carrie Rengers | Tags: , , , Filed under Lawsuits | Comments (2)