April 12, 2006
D'Complaint
D’Mustard Co. Inc., a restaurant management and franchising company that describes its restaurant concept as “A Dog and Burger Joint,” was sued in federal court in Norfolk, VA by a South Carolina couple. Plaintiffs contend they paid thousands of dollars to open five d’Mustard restaurants in South Carolina, Georgia and Connecticut, but never received the assistance that d’Mustard agreed to provide. Consequently, Plaintiffs claim it was impossible to open any of the restaurants and they seek approximately $600,000 in damages for breach of contract and fraud. The fraud claim arose because d’Mustard allegedly failed to disclose in its franchise offering circular that J. Michael Gatchell, vice president for franchise development, sales and marketing, previously filed for personal bankruptcy five times. Gatchell apparently wasn’t aware of the lawsuit and was surprised, stating, “We were really looking forward to working with them.”