Fortress Credit, one of the owners of U.S. restaurant chain Red Lobster, wants to hold off on mediating its lawsuit against Thai Union North America (TUNA) for USD 65 million (EUR 56.8 million), but Thai Union has signaled it is open to settle the case sooner.
Red Lobster emerged from bankruptcy last fall, and Fortress filed a lawsuit soon after against TUNA, a division of Samut Sakhon, Thailand-based seafood conglomerate Thai Union, alleging the company guaranteed payment to Red Lobster of up to USD 65 million in a 2022 financing agreement when Thai Union was one of the minority owners of Red Lobster.
Both companies agreed to conduct expert discovery on the alleged debt and file a joint letter regarding mediation with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York by 21 April.
Fortress said it would support mediation “at the appropriate time” but explained that the appropriate time would be after the discovery record has been developed and the parties’ experts have been able to form opinions based on the full record. A court meeting on the discovery has been set for this fall.
TUNA, meanwhile, said it is willing to mediate the case sooner and the court should require Fortress to “disclose its basic theory of the case to facilitate more productive, near-term settlement discussions.”
The loan agreement in question terminates on the earliest date when certain executives with requisite experience are appointed and a Red Lobster entity sends compliance certificates showing that it surpassed set targets for consolidated EBITDA in certain fiscal quarters, TUNA said in court documents...
