| Mr. Gerber�s company is suing Mr. Schrager for
breach of contract at SKYBAR, Gerber�s famous night-spot at the Mondrian
Hotel. The lawsuit claims that Mr. Schrager�s attempt to terminate
Mr. Gerber�s involvement with SKYBAR is unlawful. The lawsuit also
claims that Mr. Schrager is angry with Mr. Gerber for rejecting his
demands to become �exclusive� to all of his hotels and instead entering
into an agreement with Starwood to develop bars in their hotels across
the country.
�Ian lied to the government about his taxes when he ran Studio 54 and
was sent to prison for it. Then he lied to the government about hiring
minorities at the Mondrian Hotel and had to pay a $1.08 million dollar
settlement. In my case, he�s up to his old tricks again,� said Mr.
Gerber.
�Since Ian filed a lawsuit against my company in May, he has had no
regard for the truth in his dealings with me, my lawyers, the courts and
especially the press. I cannot stand idly by anymore. To paraphrase
Harry Truman, �If he�ll stop lying about me and my family, I�ll stop telling
the truth about him,�� added Mr. Gerber.
The lawsuits also claim that Mr. Schrager breached his contract with
Mr. Gerber by:
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Improperly charging in excess of $1 million dollars to SKYBAR to replace
all of the windows in the Mondrian Hotel.
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Failing to credit SKYBAR with profits from valet parking.
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Misappropriating revenues from television commercial filming at SKYBAR
and instead directing such revenue to the hotel.
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Charging SKYBAR for security actually provided to the hotel only.
In response to Schrager�s threats of legal action if Mr. Gerber did not
relinquish the �SKYBAR� mark for free, an additional lawsuit was filed
by Mr. Gerber seeking a declaratory judgement that Mr. Schrager has
no ownership or other interest in the �SKYBAR� mark. Mr. Gerber is
responsible for the success of SKYBAR, he invented the name �SKYBAR,� permitted
it to be used by the pool bar at the Mondrian Hotel and registered the
name as a federal trademark.
�It is ridiculous for Ian to think I am going to just hand over my businesses
that I have worked so hard building for the last ten years just because
he is threatened by my success and my business relationship with Starwood.
I created SKYBAR and now Ian wants to take it away from me, as he has done
with so many others, without paying for it.�
Mr. Gerber plans to open bars in select Starwood Hotels across the country
in addition to the establishments he already has in New York, Los Angeles,
Chicago, New Orleans and Aspen. He has plans to open later this year
in Boston and Miami as well as additional bars in Chicago and New Orleans. |
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Permanent Injunction Issued
Against Rande and Scott Gerber, Starwood Hotels; NY State Supreme Court
Affirms Hotelier Ian Schrager�s Charges
NEW YORK, July 19, 2000 - Hotelier Ian Schrager today
announced that a permanent injunction has been issued by the New York State
Supreme Court which prohibits Rande and Scott Gerber from owning and operating
the Wet Bar. Under the injunction�s terms, the Gerbers have been
ejected from the Wet Bar, which is located at the new W Hotel on East 39th
Street between Lexington and Park Avenues in New York. The ruling
also bans the Gerbers and Starwood Hotels from any involvement in the planning
for or operations of the Park Sunset Hotel, including its restaurant and
bar, which is scheduled to open next to the Mondrian in West Hollywood.
The permanent injunction also:
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Bars the Gerbers and Starwood from soliciting or hiring any
employees of Schrager�s Royalton, Morgans, Paramount or Mondrian Hotels.
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Requires Starwood to remove all current management employees,
including the general manager and shift managers, as well as all staff
employees who are or were employees of Morgans, Paramount or any Gerber
entity from any further employment or participation at the Wet Bar.
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Requires Starwood to publicly renounce all participation
by the Gerbers with respect to the Wet Bar by placing a conspicuous announcement
on all public entrances to the bar stating that the Gerbers are no longer
affiliated with it in any way.
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Requires Starwood to affirmatively correct all future advertising
and public material that has mentioned the Gerbers, in connection with
the Wet Bar and Park Sunset Hotel.
Mr. Schrager initiated a lawsuit in May in New York State
Supreme Court against the Gerbers and Starwood Hotels. The suit charged
that Rande Gerber, who runs popular upscale bars in Schrager hotels in
New York and Hollywood, deliberately violated his contracts with Mr. Schrager
by entering into business deals with Starwood Hotels, using his brother
in a sham management position in order to conceal his own role.
�I am gratified that the Court has ruled in my favor on
all points in the lawsuit, � Mr. Schrager said. �However, I am disappointed
because if the Gerbers had conducted themselves ethically, morally and
within the law, I would not have been compelled to file this lawsuit in
the first place.
�I intend to vigorously continue this litigation and to
pursue additional claims including damages and other remedies I requested.
I am glad this distraction is essentially behind me and I can now devote
all my energies to running my businesses,� Schrager added.
�At the time I conceived, planned, and built the bars
in my various hotels, I gave Rande Gerber the opportunity to operate some
of them, but only with the express written agreement that he and his affiliates
not open or become involved in any other bars in the Greater Los Angeles
area or in certain restricted areas of New York City,� Mr. Schrager added.
�I would never have handed over these bar operations to
Rande without this understanding. Regrettably, Rande has brought
this litigation upon himself through his blatant violation of those agreements,�
he said.
�It is unfortunate that the Gerbers did not deal in a
straight forward manner with Ian Schrager,� said Stanley Arkin, Mr. Schrager�s
attorney.
Ian Schrager Hotels, LLC
Marcia Horowitz, 212-843-8014
Rubenstein Associates, Inc. - Public Relations, for Ian
Schrager Hotels, LLC
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