$100 Million family lawsuit unfolds over high-end steakhouse Palm Restaurant

The future of the legendary Palm steakhouse is at stake in a $100 million lawsuit led by founder John Ganzi’s grandchildren. The New York Post reports that siblings Garry Ganzi and Claire Breen are suing cousin Walter Ganzi Jr. and Bruce Bozzi Sr. - grandson to Pio Bozzi, John Ganzi’s Palm business partner - in Manhattan Supreme Court.

The siblings claim they were cheated out of profits from the company’s 21 locations across the U.S. They get a 20 percent cut, while the others control the remaining 80 percent. Ganzi Jr. and Bozzi pay an annual $6,000 licensing fee per restaurant, which the siblings’ lawyer, Frederic Newman, calls “nuts” and a product of “self-dealing.”

Newman asks that the judge award his clients a 5 percent cut of restaurant earnings nationwide. But Ian Shapiro, who represents the the defendants, says the siblings are simply hungry for money they didn’t earn. He claims that amount would destroy the company.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BbK1H5fAeM4/?taken-by=palmrestaurant“The royalty they are seeking would exceed the restaurants’ average net income over many years,” Shapiro said, adding that a $100 million payment to the siblings would mean “catastrophic personal consequences” for his clients, according to the New York Post.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BbNVPmsgCf8/?taken-by=palmrestaurantThe original Palm restaurant opened in 1926 on Manhattan’s Second Avenue under the name “La Parma,” which derived from Ganzi and Bozzi’s Italian roots. The spot’s “honest, satisfying” menu features prime-aged steaks, Nova Scotia lobster, chicken parmigiana, and veal martini.

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