Moe's Southwestern Grill, one of 2004's hot concepts from Nation's Restaurant News, has been sued by an unlikely plaintiff, Jerry Garcia's estate. Moe's name is apparently an acronym for Musicians, Outlaws and Entertainers, and its restaurants feature dishes named after dead celebrities, including Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin and Elvis. The Alfredo Garcia, a fajita dish, is a Moe's staple. According to a lawsuit filed on December 8, Jerry Garcia's estate says that paintings of the late Grateful Dead star have been hung in 130 franchises and that Moe's used Jerry Garcia's image in advertising without the estate's permission. The suit also alleges that Moe's changed the words to "Casey Jones" resulting in "Trouble ahead, Trouble behind/Just have my taco ready on time," and posts the words under the Garcia likenesses.
The estate's complaint, filed in the Northern District of Georgia, said, "The idea that a sizable corporation would use his name and image without permission to sell burritos (and, more to the point, make money) is obscene; it turns Jerry into a little more than a taco huckster." The battle appears to be heating up already as Moe's VP of Finance countered (in a rather non-settlement oriented way) that Garcia's estate is only "about the money."
Garcia's name and likeness have been officially licensed to companies in connection with a line of neckties, wine and Ben & Jerry's ice cream. As the estate sees it (and many courts see it), Moe's unauthorized use of the name and image of Jerry Garcia and the words to a Grateful Dead song, affects the authorized licensees of the Garcia name by diminishing the value of their investment.
A copy of the complaint filed by Jerry Garcia's estate can be accessed here: Garcia Complaint
Moe's is required to file an answer on January 17.