Dismissal of initial Packo's lawsuit sought

Robin Horvath THE BLADE/DAVE ZAPOTOSKY Enlarge | Photo Reprints

The former co-owner of Tony Packo's Inc. is seeking to dismiss a July, 2010, lawsuit that launched a series of court actions eventually leading to the recent sale of the famed Toledo restaurant chain.

Robin Horvath, who is also a former chief operating officer of Packo's, filed a motion Tuesday in Lucas County Common Pleas Court seeking the dismissal of his claims made in the suit filed on July 23, 2010. The dismissal does not apply to other developments in the case or Mr. Horvath's appeal to the Ohio 6th Court of Appeals that seeks to overturn the February sale of Packo's to fast-food businessman Bob Bennett of TP Foods LLC.

The restaurant chain had been put into receivership and later ordered sold to Mr. Bennett, whom Judge Gene Zmuda ruled had submitted the best bid for the company.

But prior to the receivership and the sale to Mr. Bennett, Mr. Horvath had filed the lawsuit in the summer of 2010. It asked, among other things, that the terms of a 2002 Packo family dispute mechanism between himself and his uncle, Tony Packo, Jr., and cousin, Tony Packo III, be enforced to require the two Packos to sell their shares in the company to Mr. Horvath for $100,000.

In the lawsuit, Mr. Horvath also asked the court to have company records released and sought an accounting of any funds wrongfully disbursed by the company. It asked that those funds be placed in trust. In that 53-page complaint, Mr. Horvath stated that in February, 2010, he discovered more than $100,000 in questionable transactions paid to company controller Catherine Dooley or Mr. Packo III with no supporting documentation.

Since then, Mr. Packo III and Ms. Dooley each have been charged with three counts of aggravated theft. They face a June trial date on felony criminal charges that they stole about $170,000 from Packo's Inc.

After Mr. Horvath filed his July, 2010, lawsuit, Fifth Third Bank, which is owed $2.6 million by Packo's Inc., asked the court in August, 2010, to put the restaurant chain into receivership. It had been under control of receiver Steven Skutch for 15 months until it was sold to Mr. Bennett on Feb. 3 for $5.5 million.

A note for the $5.5 million will be held by Mr. Skutch until Mr. Horvath's appeals are concluded.