On November 11, 2003, we were illegally locked out of scroll_t.gifour restaurant by Dr. Conrad & Colleen
Maulfair, but more specifically, Colleen Maulfair. She just up and
decided to change all the locks as a way to prevent us from gaining
access to operate our business. She used Self-Help Eviction
measures which are illegal in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
She had no grounds whatsoever to evict us. But she felt that she is
"Colleen Maulfair", wife the the infamous holistic doctor, and
she is invincible to any recourse whether morally balanced or
legally justified.
For about 2 months prior to
closing, (late September through October) we had been negotiating
the expansion of the the cafe with the Maulfair's, as our
business was growing immensely. In the 3 months that we were
open, we had nearly quadrupled our business and profits. So the need
for expansion was imminent. The Maulfair's had offered to fund this
expansion in the way of a silent partnership. They were to lend the
cafe $80,000.00 at a 'modest interest rate' of
12%, amortized monthly, for 5 years. From those
funds, we were to expand, improve and construct the additional space
for the restaurant, in their building. Remaining funds were
to be used as working capital, to support the growing staff and
supplies that would be needed.
In addition to the loan, we
were also re-negotiating our existing 1-year lease, at $13.50/squ.
ft. to now be a 5-year lease at a whopping $27.50/squ. ft. So you
see, this would have been a very profitable venture for the
Maulfair's.
All was going well. In fact
so well that we even invited the Maulfair's to our home for our
wedding on October 31st. They had informed us not to worry about
November's rent because they knew that we were getting short on
funds, also because Colleen was expecting a higher rent per the new
lease agreement and loan. In other words, if you calculate the math,
we paid $1910.00/month on our old lease, based off of $13.50/squ.
ft. With the expansion, we would have not only increased the square
footage amount to $27.50, but also been tripling our square footage
as well. Well over 3500 square feet total on the new lease. You do
the math! Plus, the new lease was to also now include a clause to
state that ALL the equipment that we bought, including ALL
furnishings would become her property if we defaulted on the lease.
We were being setup to fail.
Once we returned from our
honeymoon, we began re-discussing where our benefit came in, because
up until this point, only the Maulfair's where profiting. At the
mere mention re-negotiating our agreement, Colleen flew off the
handle. Which would explain the purpose of her illegally changing
the locks. I guess she must have figured I'd leave all my restaurant
property there without a fight. GUESS AGAIN! Keep in mind, nothing
was signed yet. We were still on our old lease agreement. She had no
right to retain ANY of my property, change the locks, or
ANYTHING!
I returned to the premises
with a crew to recover my belongings. We cleared the place out, and
were even nice enough to clean it far nicer than the way we rented
it. I have about 4 rolls of film to prove it.
The Maulfair's decided to
play dirty, and contact their attorney to file a claim against us
for the accelerated rent for the remainder of the lease. In doing
so, they attempted to garnish all of our accounts. We struck her
action immediately, and appealed it in court. Once the judge heard
the full situation, all of the accounts were released, and she lost
her claim for the accelerated rent, our accounts were released and
the war began!
So now, as of February 23,
2004, we have formally filed a lawsuit against The Maulfair's
and the Maulfair Medical Center in the amount of
$447,560.00 plus punitive damages, plus interest, plus
attorney's fees and plus court costs!
*UPDATE*
My
cousin was an employee for the Maulfair's. She's been working there
since September 2003. As of March, 2004 she was fired for an
"undetermined" reason. Let's dig deeper, shall
we?
She
wasn't fired for performance, in fact, it was mentioned that she was
an outstanding, valued employee by all her co-workers,
including Colleen! Come to think of it, THERE WAS NO LEGITIMENT
REASON! Colleen fired her "because of the situation".
What
situation? Of course, when Colleen was questioned what she was
referring to, she refused to say. Why Colleen? Afraid of
getting sued again?
Let's just call it what it really is...a poor attempt of revenge, at the expense of a
young, valuable employee, who has by the way, a newborn child,
a mortgage and a hard working husband on the verge of
being laid off! Shame on you! Have you no
morals? Or maybe they don't teach that in 'scientology'. Find
reality! Or it's going to find
YOU!
Well,
this lawsuit's purpose has just changed. It isn't just
about recovering rightful losses for Cafe del Giardino anymore. This
lawsuit is for ALL the people, who have since come forth, to reveal
their their own sad dealings with the Maulfair's. I don't know
how they sleep at night!
To read
the actual lawsuit documentation,
CLICK
HERE
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