Gordon Ramsay Sued by Former Business Partner for Running Business Like 'Dictator'
Restaurant mogul Gordon Ramsay is being sued by former business partner Rowen Seibel. The lawsuit alleges that Ramsay tried to run his businesses like a "dictatorship" and tried to take all the profits for himself.
"Gordon Ramsay attempted to run the business and make decisions … similar to his television personality on 'Hell's Kitchen' – as a dictatorship, without the proper authority and without consent of his partner," the paperwork filed in Manhattan states, according to Page Six.
Seibel and Ramsay ran the Fat Cow, which opened in 2012. Seibel has also licensed the Serendipity trademarks for restaurants in Las Vegas, Florida, and Washington D.C. Unfortunately, Seibel and Ramsay's relationship did not work out, and tensions soared when Ramsay selected the name the "Fat Cow" allegedly without Seibel's consent. That restaurant closed after being open less than two years.
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"Ramsay fraudulently induced Seibel to invest over $800,000 in Fat Cow Restaurant – an investment that went towards an expensive built-out of the lease space with a new kitchen, new fixtures and furnishings, and to train the restaurant staff – but then intentionally forced Fat Cow Restaurant to close so that he could use Seibel's investment to benefit another Gordon Ramsay restaurant," Seibeil said.
He is seeking $10.8 million - $10 million more than he invested – in order to replace lost income from the restaurant's closure and for damages from Ramsay's "egregious misconduct, fraud, self-dealing and theft of corporate opportunity."
Ramsay has denied the claims and expressed his surprise at Seibel's actions.
A Ramsay spokeswoman provided The Christian Post with the following statement:
"We're surprised that Mr. Seibel has the audacity to file this ridiculous suit when he and his team were responsible for the day to day running of The Fat Cow and spectacularly mismanaged it resulting in a string of financial and legal issues. Gordon Ramsay and his team immediately stepped in and tried to resolve these issues, but Seibel refused to engage in any meaningful conversations, rendering the restaurant unsustainable. Throughout, Ramsay was very forthcoming with Seibel that any future plan for another restaurant partnership in Los Angeles was impossible due to Seibel's refusal to operate and fund the restaurant properly, sadly including Seibel diverting funds from the business."
