Jan. 31, 2006 - FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. -- A Superior Court judge ordered on Monday the owner of the Regency Inn to pay his former franchiser $167,000.

The owner, Subodh Thakur, said he will talk with lawyers to determine how he should respond to the order.

The Regency Inn is at 521 Ramsey St. It was once the Villager Lodge, a franchise of Villager Franchise Systems. The Villager brand has since merged with the Knights Inn.

Thakur's hotel left Villager and became independent in 2003. Thakur said the hotel did not violate any portion of its franchise agreement, either by leaving or during its years as a Villager hotel.

Villager Franchise Systems says Thakur did violate certain parts of his franchise agreement, according to court documents. Villager did not say which portions were allegedly violated.

An arbitration hearing was held in June 2005, according to court documents. Thakur said he did not attend the hearing on the advice of his lawyer.

In July, the arbitrator issued an award in favor of Villager, according to court documents. Earlier in January, Villager filed a motion to confirm its arbitration award.

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