Barcadia restaurant sues consultant for alleged misappropriation of more than $100K of revenue

NEW ORLEANS – The owners of a New Orleans bar and grill are suing a man whom they hired as a consultant to help them on their Tchopitoulas St. business, claiming that he misappropriated more than $100,000.

Barcadia Bar and Grill filed suit against Stanton Ripp and LDE Holdings LLC in the Orleans Parish Civil District Court on March 24, 2015.

The plaintiffs assert that in January 2013 they hired the defendant, a manager of a local nightclub known as Generations Hall, to consult and assist them in the opening of their bar and grill. They state that a base payment of twelve thousand dollars annually was agreed upon. Following what the plaintiffs believed to be was a successful start, plans were made in conjunction with the defendant to open a Baton Rouge location. The plaintiffs claim Ripp's behavior became erratic in September 2014 and they became suspicious of inconsistent financial reports from Ripp, specifically stemming from their gaming machines. He admitted to them that he had been reimbursing himself through the company's checkbook and gaming machines without authority. The plaintiffs claim that after further attempts to deescalate the situation and confirm the details of the amount of money in question–they realized that the total amount of theft and misuse was not easily calculable and seemed to increase on a daily basis.

The defendant is accused of fraud, conversion misrepresentation, negligence, breach of fiduciary duty and unjust enrichment.

The plaintiff seeks damages in the amount of all damages caused by the defendant, all resulting damages accrued by his misappropriation of funds, court costs and applicable judicial interest

The plaintiff is represented by Jack A. Ricci, Michael S. Ricci and Jonathan L. Schultis of New Orleans-based Ricci Partners LLC.

This case has been assigned to Division I Judge Piper D. Griffin.

Case no. 2015-02718.