Of course we all love a happy ending ….

This news was Featured in photography right at the top of the article as shown here the distinctive differences left and right.

2007: Pearl Oyster Bar v. Ed’s Lobster Bar
In a juicy lawsuit, Rebecca Charles of Peal Oyster Bar claimed that her sous-chef of six years, Ed McFarland, “pirated Pearl’s entire menu, copied all aspects of Pearl’s presentation of its dishes; duplicated Pearl’s readily identifiable décor; made repeated efforts to secure Pearl’s staff and suppliers and even returned to Pearl and photographed business documents; all for the evident purpose of trading off of Pearl’s sterling reputation and business.” Answering the complaint, McFarland argued that Pearl’s dishes were “traditional, ubiquitous and generic seafood dishes,” and asked that the case be dismissed. In April of 2008, the parties settled — Charles told the Times it was partly because she had to take care of her ailing mother.

Article is here: http://newyork.grubstreet.com/2009/07/a_short_history_of_recent_rest.html

Jeff’s Notes …: Its kind of amazing but this case has infact become a national landmark in restauranteur case history… and ED’s gets listed as a reference nearly every time there is a similar case, its pretty easy to google.

Just in case you want a chuckle – read the comments in the EATER post …
http://eater.com/archives/2008/04/eds_lobster_bar_7.php

Posted by: Jeff the webguy