BENTON - Owners of American rights to the brand of Germany’s Hofbrau beer and a receiver for the vacant Hofbrauhaus on Route 15 in Belleville settled a suit over the restaurant's failure.
Hofbrauhaus of America, restaurant owner Oak Tree Management Services, and receiver Richard Stiler moved for entry of judgment on March 22.
They agreed that no one would operate as Hofbrauhaus without a franchise agreement.
They agreed that an owner or contractor without a franchise agreement would eliminate every trace of the Hofbrau brand down to carvings in benches, except one.
They can’t eliminate the German castle at the top of the bluff, a replica of the original Hofbrauhaus in Munich.
The Keller family of Effingham opened the establishment in 2018, but by then their plan to develop a hotel, a winery, and more restaurants had stalled.
Oak Tree Management Services defaulted on debt at Royal Banks of Missouri in 2019.
Royal sued Oak Tree in Missouri, and a judge appointed William Crouch as receiver.
In March 2022, Hofbrauhaus of America sued Oak Tree and Crouch at U.S. district court at Las Vegas, seeking an injunction against further use of the brand and its marks.
Oak Tree moved to dismiss the suit or transfer it to Southern Illinois district court.
Crouch sued Hofbrauhaus in St. Louis civil court in April 2022, claiming his authority as receiver outweighed the franchise agreement.
Hofbrauhaus removed the suit to the Eastern Missouri district court.
The parties jointly asked the judges in Missouri and Nevada to stay the proceedings so they could discuss settlement, and the judges granted it.
The discussion broke down that December, and Hofbrauhaus asked Nevada District Judge Anne Traum to decide Oak Tree’s transfer motion.
She transferred the suit to Southern Illinois in January 2023, finding she could exercise jurisdiction but factors favored transfer.
She found the premises were in Illinois and the likelihood of consumer confusion was there.
She found an Illinois court was best positioned to order and enforce relief.
Then Hofbrauhaus shut down.
The Southern District clerk received the file and randomly assigned District Judge Staci Yandle, who set trial this November.
Last June, Richard Striler substituted for Crouch as receiver for Royal Banks of Missouri.
Stiler and Hofbrauhaus of America jointly moved in November to postpone the trial to April 2025, and Yandle denied the motion in December.
She next heard from them that they wouldn’t need a trial as they had reached a settlement.
The agreement provides that Oak Tree and Stiler “will not make further use of any Hofbrau related beer recipes or proprietary brewing information.”
It provides that they will not use any franchise information or proprietary operational data.
It provides that Hofbrauhaus will pay a contractor to remove all Hofbrau and Hofbrauhaus signs, trademarks, and trade names from the exterior.
Removal will occur within three months of the agreement’s effective date.
The agreement provides that Oak Tree and Stiler can operate a restaurant, beer hall or pub if they remove or cover all signs throughout the interior on walls, glass, doors, tanks, and light fixtures.
The defendants must remove, substantively alter, or cover all wooden benches, chairs, tables, and bar stools in which trademarks are carved into the woodwork.
It provides that Oak Tree may use websites or social media accounts it previously used if the websites and accounts do not use the Hofbrauhaus name.
Las Vegas area lawyers Eric Hone, Jamie Zimmerman and Kathryn Newman represent Hofbrauhaus of America with Robert Stephens of St. Louis as local counsel.
Jarrod Rickard of Las Vegas represents Oak Tree and Stiler.
Llynn White and Michael Campbell of St. Louis represent Stiler.