Pavicich, Wallace settle LG Brewing Company battle
By Nathan R. Huff
An out-of-court settlement has cut the hefty litigation file surrounding the Los Gatos Brewing Company in half. Both of former brewery co-owner Theodore Wallace's lawsuits against current brewery owner Andrew Pavicich Jr. were laid to rest in a settlement reached Sept. 30.
However, Pavicich still faces litigation from former Los Gatos Brewery co-owner Robert Keller, who filed a lawsuit similar to the larger of Wallace's two suits. Keller's case was combined with Wallace's suit, but will now stand on its own.
Wallace was seeking to be repaid, or "indemnified," for the costs of defending himself, as then co-owner of the brewery, against a 1992 lawsuit by Los Gatans Martin Feldman and Tom Ferrito. The settlement also ends Wallace's second, larger lawsuit against Pavicich; Wallace claimed Pavicich broke agreements and intentionally inflicted emotional distress, among other things.
While the exact terms of the settlement could not be released, attorney Sandra McIntosh of the San Jose law firm Trepel & Clark said, "The matter has been resolved to the mutual satisfaction of both parties." In court documents dated Sept. 27, 1999, Wallace had asked for more than $600,000 for the indemnification lawsuit, and a total of $1.45 million for all claims relating to the corporation.
While Keller will not be seeking any indemnification compensation, he will be attempting to prove Pavicich is guilty of the same charges Wallace had accused him of--breach of contract, infliction of emotional distress and defamation.
Keller is also a defendant, which further complicates the situation. Pavicich had named Keller, Wallace and their attorney in the Feldman/Ferrito lawsuit that Anthony Santucci filed in a cross-suit in response to Wallace's original suit. While Wallace is no longer part of the picture, Keller remains a defendant in Pavicich's cross-suit.
Pavicich alleges in his cross-suit that Wallace, Keller and Santucci hid the pending Ferrito/Feldman lawsuit from him when he was first considering investing in the brewery back in 1992, a charge Keller denies in court documents.
Pavicich's cross-suit had claimed that because Pavicich was not aware of the Ferrito/Feldman litigation, Wallace's demand for indemnification from Pavicich and the Brewing Co. was invalid. How the cross-suit will affect Keller's suit is unknown, since Keller is not seeking indemnification.
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Los Gatos, California Since 1881
