Justin Hemmes’ Merivale to be continued by restaurant in Brisbane

Sydney hospitality giant Merivale is being sued over the Establishment name after a Brisbane restaurant hit back at copycat allegations in the Federal Court.

The dispute began in February when Hemmes Trading Pty Limited (Justin Hemmes’ Merivale group) filed a lawsuit against Establishment 203 Pty Ltd, claiming the new upmarket Italian steakhouse in Fortitude Valley was seeking to “make substantial profits” through a “ identical” name to use the Sydney CBD hospitality area.

Establishment 203, which denies the allegations, has since filed a counterclaim seeking to completely remove Merivale’s Establishment trademark.

It is the latest development in a series of lawsuits involving Merivale, including an ongoing class action lawsuit alleging the company underpaid as many as 14,000 workers, and an appeal against the Inner West Council to convert 20 designated parking areas. turn into a beer garden at Marrickville pub The Vic (Vic on the Park).

The accusations follow widespread reports of a Totti’s lookalike restaurant in Paris, prompting CEO Justin Hemmes to muse: ‘Don’t they say ‘imitation is the sincerest form of flattery’? I’m not sure I agree with that.”

Merivale is seeking an injunction to prevent Establishment 203 from using the name, as well as damages to compensate for the financial losses and dilution of Establishment’s licensing value resulting from the similarity.

Establishment 203, which denies the allegations, has filed a counterclaim seeking to completely remove Merivale’s Establishment trademark.

Merivale has used the Establishment brand to promote its George Street hospitality precinct since the Sydney Olympics in September 2000, and says it now attracts around 20,000 customers every week to its bars, restaurants (including Mr. Wong and Sushi e), event spaces and a hotel.

Establishment 203 is the first restaurant from Stanbroke, one of the largest privately owned integrated beef and cattle companies in the world, based in Queensland. It opened in December with former Surf the menu host Ben O’Donoghue on board as chef, and Remon Van de Kerkhof (ex-Oncore from Clare Smyth) leads the front of house.

According to court documents, Merivale Establishment 203’s legal representatives asked in November that the name no longer be used. They claim that Establishment 203 refused to comply in “blatant and outrageous disregard for the rights of the trademark owner” and will continue to do so “unless restrained” by the court.

Lawyers for Merivale claim the nominal similarities pose a “real risk” of confusing customers, leading them to mistakenly believe that Establishment 203 is somehow endorsed by, licensed or otherwise commercially related to Establishment in Sydney .

In a defense filed in late March, Establishment 203 denies the allegations and says the name was chosen in good faith. The restaurant claims the name refers to the Stanbroke’s Establishment 203 abattoir in the Queensland regional town of Grantham, which has been operating since 1997.

The Brisbane restaurant exclusively stocks steak from their Grantham abattoir, with a range of 14 different cuts of Angus, Wagyu and grass-fed beef available on the From the Fire menu.

Establishment 203’s counterclaim seeks an injunction to cancel and remove Merivale’s Establishment trademark. Their lawyers argue that the mark fails to substantially distinguish Hemmes’ goods and services from those of other companies – a requirement for trademark registration. Merivale denies the claim.

The dispute is ongoing, with parties ordered to submit evidence ahead of the next hearing before Federal Court Judge Ian Jackman on July 17. The three-day hearing is scheduled for September 3.

But the hospitality giant will return to the Federal Court beforehand for a hearing on a settlement in a collective labor and industrial relations action brought against associated entity MRVL Investments Pty Ltd.

The lawsuit, which Adero Law filed on behalf of hospitality workers in 2019, alleges that Merivale relied on an invalid employee collective bargaining agreement, rather than the relevant industry award, to underpay up to 14,000 employees between 2013 and 2019.

In March, Merivale reached a no-contest settlement with Adero Law, agreeing to a lump sum payment of $18,000,000 to cover all damages and costs – almost half of which is likely to go to lawyers and the litigation funder.

To proceed, the settlement agreement must be approved by the Federal Court.

Hemmes Property Pty Ltd, another associated Merivale entity, has also recently appealed against the Inner West Council, which had initially rejected an application to remove twenty parking spaces from the site of The Vic pub in Marrickville and use them as part of its extensive beer offering. garden.

Following a successful mediation conference, the application was approved, allowing the outdoor space to operate as a beer garden all week and from Thursday to Saturday until 2.30am.

Good Food contacted Etablissement 203 for comment. Merivale declined to comment.