Jessica Biel’s Restaurant Closing Down After Stolen Tips Lawsuit Is Dismissed
July 16 2018, Published 8:13 p.m. ET
Jessica Biel’s restaurant Au Fudge is closing down after the West Hollywood eatery was slapped with a lawsuit in 2017. RadarOnline.com can reveal exclusive details on the latest in Biel’s legal battle with her disgruntled employees.
In court papers obtained from Los Angeles Superior Court , plaintiff Christina Desage requested the lawsuit against Au Fudge be dismissed on behalf of all parties without prejudice, which means it could be filed again, on June 6, 2018.
On June 18, 2018, Garrett Parks, an attorney on behalf of the defendants, filed a declaration in support of Plaintiff’s request for dismissal.
He explained how the filing fees in the amounts of $3,711.20, $30.75, $134.85 and $120.00 have been paid in full.
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Au Fudge employees accused Biel, 36, and her business partners of stealing $430,100 in tips.
When the ‘young adults’ were employed in March 2016, they claimed they were “ill-prepared to deal with the violations of their rights in the workplace.”
The employees claimed they worked over 8 hours a day without meal or rest breaks. They also claimed they didn’t receive overtime compensation.
The employees alleged that they were informed that tips would be distributed to them when working private parties for companies from Amazon to Netflix.
“In truth, Biel and her co-owners charged hundreds of thousands of dollars in gratuities to private-party customers and converted said gratuities to themselves in order to pad their own pockets and deprive employees their just compensation,” the court papers read.
They claimed they should have received at least $48,449.50 from vendor tips. The employees also claimed they did not have access to contracts that could be withholding at least $280,500 from them.
In Biel’s response to the lawsuit, she and her business partners denied the claims against them. Their legal team claimed the lawsuit was “an effort to extort money from the Defendants.”
Now Biel’s family friendly eatery has closed down. The restaurant confirmed the closing with two Instagram posts on July 14 and July 15
“Thank you for so many years of support,” the post read. “Tomorrow is our last day open at the restaurant, but more things to come from Au Fudge. As of Monday, July 16, we will be open for private events.”
The second post read, “Today is our last day of regular business hours at Au Fudge the restaurant. We are still available for private events and @aufudgecamp is only a few blocks away!” the post explained. “Thanks for all the support.”
Us Weekly was the first to report on the closing.
According to Public Health County of Los Angeles, six inspections between March 2016 and March 2018 took place at the restaurant. Despite minor violations, Au Fudge received A grades during the inspections.
But Biel revealed in January 2017 that her restaurant wasn’t successful.
“The restaurant business is way harder than being a producer,” she said on Jimmy Kimmel Live. “We’re definitely not making money. Nobody’s making money in the restaurant business, in my experience, at least not yet.”
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Wehoville was the first to report on the lawsuit being dismissed.
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