Food distributor seeks payment
SEVEN FIELDS — A food distributor is seeking a default judgment against Hines Ward's Table 86 for nearly $160,000 in unpaid bills.
US Foods, which filed suit in June against the restaurant, filed a motion Monday requesting the court enter a default judgment in favor of the distributor after Table 86 failed to defend itself in the lawsuit.
The restaurant closed in March due to an ownership dispute, according to Howard Shiller, a co-owner of the business. The other owner, Daniel Lindner, could not be reached for comment.
According to the lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, Table 86 owes US Foods nearly $45,000 pursuant to a distribution agreement, in which the restaurant agreed to order a certain amount of food from the distributor in addition to more than $113,000 in unpaid invoices.
Shiller said Lindner was discussing payment with US Foods after the restaurant's closure, and that proceeds from sales of the company's assets and its liquor license likely would pay the bill. He added that he was not involved in the legal process nor in the discussions with US Foods, but that he's certain the past due invoices would be paid.“Hopefully, my partner and his attorney will do the right thing and pay people when they settle out,” Shiller said.Kristen Moritz, an attorney representing US Foods, said she was not authorized to speak on the lawsuit.Ward, who played wide receiver with the Pittsburgh Steelers for 14 years, is not involved in the business beyond a licensing agreement that allowed the company to use his name, according to Shiller.“This has nothing to do with Hines Ward because Hines Ward was not an owner of the company,” he said.
