Alternative-asset-management firm Benefit Street Partners LLC has sued Il Mulino’s co-owner over access to the luxury Italian restaurant chain’s website and use of liquor licenses, more than a month after the fund manager’s affiliate acquired some of the eatery’s assets out of bankruptcy, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. BSP filed an adversary proceeding Wednesday with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan against Gerald Katzoff and his company GFB Restaurant Corp., which operates the legendary Il Mulino restaurant in Greenwich Village. The asset manager sought a temporary restraining order against Mr. Katzoff, preventing him from interfering with liquor licenses and permits for some Il Mulino locations that BSP’s affiliate had acquired. It also sought to stop him from removing those entities from the ilmulino.com website, related email server and social media accounts, according to court papers. During a status conference on Thursday, Judge Martin Glenn ordered a standstill on the intellectual-property-rights dispute, pending another court hearing or a stipulation and order, as litigation between the parties continues. K.G. LM LLC, a manager of Il Mulino, sought chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July for seven of 16 Il Mulino’s locations outside New York City, blaming the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic and a dispute with BSP over a loan default.
