The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Seven Bahamian companies and contractors have “voluntarily” withdrawn their claims for thousands of dollars in damages against Jamie Dingman over the collapse of his Nassau-based restaurant empire.

Court documents obtained by Tribune Business provide no explanation for why they have pulled out of the New York lawsuit against the son of world-famous entrepreneur and Lyford Cay resident, Michael, although the move appears to be strategic.

The Bahamian companies previously included as plaintiffs against Mr Dingman are the well-known Wulff Road-based building materials suppliers, FYP and Tile King, the People First (Bahamas) employment agency, IDNet, and Young Digerati (YNG).

The individual Bahamians also suing Mr Dingman included Jason Rolle, his former general manager, who claimed to be owed $46,113 in unpaid salary and benefits, plus Tyrone Adderley, a contractor seeking more than $2,000 for work on the Beach Club Cafe at Sandyport.

The decision by all the Bahamians claimants to withdraw from the action against Mr Dingman and his Out West Hospitality business, which included the iconic Traveller’s Restaurant and several other restaurant brands, appears to be tied to the latter’s efforts to have the New York lawsuit dismissed.

Mr Dingman and his attorneys are arguing that because most of the events complained of occurred in the Bahamas, with many of the plaintiffs and defendants either based or incorporated here, this nation is more appropriate than New York as a jurisdiction to hear any claims.

Sensing that Mr Dingman may have had a good argument to dismiss the New York lawsuit on jurisdictional grounds, it is likely that a strategic decision was taken for all Bahamian plaintiffs to withdraw so as to weaken his case.

Their withdrawal leaves just two Americans, Ryan Giunta and Erik Gordon, as the sole plaintiffs bringing the action against Mr Dingman over his failed Nassau eatery empire.

Arguing against his efforts to dismiss the case, they alleged: “The first complaint includes 14 American and Bahamian plaintiffs, and alleges various claims against six American and Bahamian defendants for misconduct by defendant James T. Dingman and others in connection with his purported efforts to build a hospitality conglomerate.

“After initially defaulting, defendants appeared and filed the motion seeking dismissal in favour of the Bahamas.

“Subsequently, 12 of the 14 plaintiffs, including all of the Bahamian plaintiffs, voluntarily dismissed their claims, leaving only the two current American plaintiffs, Erik Gordon and Ryan Giunta.”

Giunta is alleging that despite Mr Dingman promising to pay him $150,000 per annum for his services, he received just $3,000 for work performed over the 15-month period from February 2013 to May 2014.

As for Gordon, he is claiming that he was induced to invest some $343,000 in Out West Hospitality based on allegedly false representations by Mr Dingman.

He is casting doubt on Mr Dingman’s assertion that all the accounting records for Out West Hospitality and the restaurants were based in the Bahamas.

This was used as one justification for moving the case to the Bahamas, but Gordon alleged: “I am aware that Dingman claims that relevant books and records are located in the Bahamas. However, I do not believe such documents exist.

“During that period from in or about January 2014 through in or about May 2014, I repeatedly requested that Dingman and Out West Hospitality’s counsel provide me with detailed financial records for Out West Hospitality and its purported subsidiaries.

“Dingman failed to provide the requested information. In or about April 2014, Dingman and Out West Hospitality’s counsel advised me that no such records existed,” Gordon claimed.

“In addition, on or about April 22, 2014, Out West Hospitality’s accountant sent me an e-mail stating that ‘until I was hired a few months back to structure the group, there were no accounting processes in place’.”

That e-mail, obtained by Tribune Business from court files, was sent in response to Gordon’s earlier request that read thus: “Who is the current accountant and why doesn’t he/she just send profit and loss, balance sheet, cash flow etc through the 2014 first quarter so I can see now?”

Mr Dingman forwarded this to Kristopher Carr, who replied using the words detailed by Gordon, and added: “Jamie, from my understanding, because you were the sole shareholder you started out very lenient with procedures, as your main focus was acquiring locations and getting the right teams in place.

“Also, an accounting challenge that we faced when implementing the accounting program was the fact that, financially, Traveller’s Rest had/has been funding all other locations for construction, operations etc.

“Now that Island Smoke House and Harbor Terrace are open, and Cantina and Beach Club are closer to their opening days, this process has become much cleaner and each venue will have its own set of accounting books, starting with Traveller’s Rest and Island Smoke House.”

Giunta, meanwhile, produced a September 25, 2014, e-mail exchange to back his claim, in which Mr Dingman allegedly admitted to owing him money.

The e-mail, from Mr Dingman to Giunta, alleged that “90 per cent” of what the latter had said to him was false.

“Sounds like your handiwork. This is filled with a lot of misinformation,” Mr Dingman wrote. “So sad, after you and your wife lived for free at my house for over one year.”

However, he then wrote: “I am sorry that the company owes you money. I am sorry you could never make the places profitable......

“Ryan G, who put in no money but gave his time for one year. Owed money for past services. The only debt on the books.”

Mr Dingman then blamed the slow point of the tourism season, and fears of hurricanes, for why the restaurants - including Traveller’s Rest, the Island Smoke House, 25 North and Bahamex - were closed.

“All landlords know that the places have been shut for two months (slow season and hurricanes),” he wrote.

“All landlords know that we re-open in October. This has always been dependent on my deal with the new operators and the TV show.”

Mr Dingman’s efforts to build a Nassau-based restaurant and hospitality business included taking over Traveller’s Rest in western New Providence via a lease arrangement.

That venture failed and the property shut again, until members of the Bain family, its owners, re-opened it again.

He also leased two units in the Klonaris brothers’ Elizabeth on Bay plaza on Bay Street for two other restaurant formats, both of which have also closed.

Tribune Business also revealed how Mr Dingman leased the Beach Club Cafe from Sandyport’s developers, viewing this as his “signature property”. The venture never opened, and the lease was pulled.