A federal judge has thrown out a 2016 lawsuit filed by Izzo’s Illegal Burritos against the owners of the Rouses supermarket chain alleging, among other things, conspiracy under the civil Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations, or RICO, Act.
U.S. District Judge John DeGravelles dismissed the case in a detailed ruling Tuesday that, essentially, shot down the plaintiff’s three central arguments, which were that:
- Rouses, in 2011, allegedly tried to bribe an Izzo’s restaurant manager into going to work for Rouses so the supermarket could steal his Izzo’s recipe book and establish burrito bars, similar to Izzo’s, in their stores.
- Rouses conspired to keep Izzo’s out of shopping center developments—specifically Juban Crossing, where Rouses was an anchor tenant—through restrictive lease covenants.
- Rouses allegedly continues to use Izzo’s trademark recipes at its own burrito bars.
DeGravelles found the allegations without merit, and—significantly for Juban Crossing developer Creekstone Development and two other shopping center developers dragged into the suit—reiterated that “restrictive covenants between a lessor and lessee are not themselves unlawful, tortious or violative of antitrust law.”
But Izzo’s attorney, Robby Evans, says his client will continue to fight, and will also pursue a separate suit filed earlier this year in 19th Judicial District Court. Rouses’ attorneys successfully got that suit remanded to federal court, but Evans is trying to get it back in state court, where he believes it should be heard.
“It’s not over,” he says. “We believe Rouses is still engaging in illegal activity; we’re going to appeal this judge’s decision and we’re also going to pursue the new lawsuit and try to get it back into state court.”
Rouses’ owner Donny Rouse Jr. says if Izzo’s wants to continue pursuing a “frivolous lawsuit” the supermarket chain will continue to defend itself.
“We didn’t do anything wrong,” he says. “I’m not sure what these guys are thinking, but we’re glad the judge made the correct ruling.”
Izzo’s had been seeking $10 million in damages. The restaurant chain’s original suit from April 2016 alleged Rouses pressured several shopping center developers to keep Izzo’s out of their developments in retaliation for a 2012 incident involving an Izzo’s restaurant manager, who was fired from his position and went to work in the burrito bar of a Rouses Supermarket in Lafayette, taking an Izzo’s proprietary recipe book with him.
