The Florida-based landlord that evicted dozens of Frisch's restaurants last year is now seeking more than $11 million in damages against the owners of Frischs Restaurants Inc. That could hamper efforts by three new companies try ing to keep 31 surviving Frischs locations open.Attorneys say the new companies FBB IP LLC, FRM Holding Company LLC and FRM Franchising LLC could eventually be asked to pay off Frisch's debts.NNN REIT LP sued Frischs Restaurants Inc. in Georgias Fulton County Superior Court on Feb. 11. It claims Frischs owes $11.7 million in unpaid rent, failed to keep its properties in good repair and caused its landlord undue trouble and expense by acting in bad faith and being stubbornly litigious.The Georgia lawsuit is one of five pending complaints in which Frisch's creditors are seeking monetary damages totaling more than $12 million.The complaint seeks $11.7 million plus interest after Feb. 5, along with reimbursement of attorney fees and repairs to damaged restaurants.The lawsuit names two defendants. Both are corporate affiliates of NRD Capital, the Atlanta-based private equity firm that bought Frischs in 2015. But the landlords attorneys have threatened to pursue assets transferred to other companies, formed by Frischs in November to enable a buyout by longtime Frischs managers.In a Feb. 20 letter to Frischs attorneys, Jessica Salisbury-Copper questioned whether Frischs attempted to avoid their creditors by transferring assets to affiliates, according to documents filed in a federal lawsuit over the use of Frischs trademarks. We look forward to engaging in discovery on these issues, Salisbury-Copper added.Its a pretty substantial threat, said Todd McMurtry, an attorney who reviewed court records at the request of the WCPO 9 I-Team. Although he has no involvement in the Frischs cases, McMurtry has extensive experience in complex litigation and corporate law. If I was a creditor of the Atlanta-based Frischs, Id like to know what those assets were (and) how much they received in payments for those assets, McMurtry said. Thats a key issue because if it wasnt fair-market value, theres a chance it could be a fraudulent conveyance. Georgia is one of many states that allow creditors to claim assets to settle debts if their transfer was intended to hinder, delay, or defraud creditors. McMurtry said recent disclosures in various Frischs lawsuits make him think that creditors will eventually pursue claims against multiple Frischs corporate entities, new and old.Ive seen companies forced into bankruptcy, an involuntary bankruptcy action, and there, creditors can attempt to recover assets, McMurtry said.Attorney Ryan Hemmerle agreed the Georgia case could impact the long-term viability of the Frischs Big Boy brand.If they can connect the dots and make a salient case, the new Frischs is going to have problems, but its not a slam dunk, said Hemmerle, who handles commercial litigation at the Strauss Troy law firm downtown.Frischs declined to be interviewed for this story. But its public relations firm, Game Day Communications, provided statements attributed to Darrin White, CEO of Frischs Big Boy.Were not backing down, White said. Frischs is here to stay, and we will continue delivering the food and experience our customers love. This lawsuit is about stopping a bad actor from misleading the public.Big Boy Battle heats up The litigation over Frischs downfall is already complicated enough. To summarize, Frischs Atlanta-based owners paid $175 million for the iconic Cincinnati restaurant chain in 2015, then sold much of its real estate to Orlando-based NNN REIT. For a variety of reasons, Frischs fell on hard times and started missing its rent payments in February 2024.After a default notice last August, NNN REIT filed 64 separate eviction cases against Frischs, which closed all but 31 restaurants and its commissary by the end of last year. Before the closures, Frischs announced on November 18 that two longtime Frischs managers had acquired multiple locations and future development rights of the brand.The companys press release didnt provide many details about the deal. But a few facts emerged last month, when a new Frischs company, FBB IP LLC, accused Michigans Big Boy Restaurant Group of infringing on its trademarks. The lawsuit accused the Michigan chain of conspiring with NNN REIT to open rival Big Boy restaurants in Frischs franchise territory.The Michigan chain has argued it was trying to protect the Big Boy brand from damage caused by Frischs. The case is still pending, but a federal judge has ruled Frischs is likely to succeed on the merits and temporarily blocked the Michigan chain from using the Big Boy name in Ohio. So, this month, the Michigan chain re-opened three closed Frischs locations under the name Dollys Burgers and Shakes.Meantime, accusations continue to fly in federal court documents, where the Michigan chain questioned whether FBB IP owns the trademarks it sued to protect. FBB IP said that wasnt relevant to the case. The Michigan chain also pointed out that Frischs owner, Aziz Hashim, identified himself as president and chairman of FBB IP in a court affidavit.Given that Frischs Restaurants owed NNN REIT more than $4.7 million, this appears to be a conveyance to avoid creditors, the Michigan chain asserted.To answer questions about the ownership of Frischs trademarks, Hashim filed a second affidavit that provided more detail about the sale of Frischs assets in November. Hashim said Big Boy trademarks were assigned to FBB IP as the result of an asset purchase agreement between Frischs Restaurants Inc. and FRM Holding Company LLC, an FBB IP affiliate.Hashims affidavit raises some additional questions about the transfer of assets.For starters, the assignment of trademark rights was signed by Hashim, on behalf of FBB IP, and Marshall Snook, president and CFO of Frischs IP LLC. Hashim is the founder of NRD Capital, while Snook is a Dallas-based owner, or principal, of the company.Such discrepancies wouldnt be enough to prove a fraudulent conveyance claim on their own, McMurtry said. But it might be enough to convince creditors to pursue such claims.The main thing that you need to prove a fraudulent conveyance claim is that the assets that were transferred out were for less than fair-market value, McMurtry said. But there are other criteria. Such as, did the same people that were running the original company thats in debt, are they also involved in running the new company? The other thing is, are they engaged the same business? And did the transfer leave the old company, the debtor company, insolvent?Frischs has yet to reveal any financial details of the November transactions.But it has asserted in court documents that FBB IP and its affiliates paid fair-market value for the intellectual property they sued to protect.Its also important to note that NNN REIT did not assert a fraudulent conveyance claim against Frischs in its Georgia lawsuit. And it didnt name FBB IP or FRM Holding Company as defendants. Instead, it named Frischs Restaurants Inc. and FRI Holding Company, LLC. FRI is a legal entity that guaranteed payments under Frischs lease. Its sole manager is NRD Capital, according to federal court documents.It may be that NNN believes the FRI is financially solvent and that it can obtain all past due sums and attorney fees from the guarantor. In that case, there is no need to seek to hold New Frischs liable for Old Frischs debts, McMurtry said. If FRI cannot satisfy the sums due, NNN may go after New Frischs.Another wrinkle involves court disclosures by the Michigan chain. Turns out it tried to buy Frischs before the company transferred assets to its longtime managers in November. I dont feel like we got close. I mean, we were never given financial statements, said Tamer Afr, CEO of Big Boy Restaurant Group, in an interview. On November 8, they sent a letter saying they transferred the intellectual property from the old company to a new Delaware-based company. And, I think upon receiving that, we sent them a notice that we were terminating their (brand) rights.Although he assumes the new Frischs affiliates are owned by NRD Capital, Afr admits he doesnt know.Ill let the legal proceedings play themselves out, Afr said. I know theres lawsuits pending and Im sure the truth and all the information will come out. Hopefully, from our standpoint, we can keep operating restaurants in this area.Afrs counterpart at Frischs Big Boy said his company will win in court.Michigan-based Big Boy Restaurant Group is attempting a hostile takeover of locations they have no right to, CEO Darrin White said. They are trying to hijack Frischs goodwill and deceive our customers. We didnt file this lawsuit lightly. This is about protecting our team, our franchisees, and the customers who deserve honesty, not deception. ...read more read less