COOK COUNTY RECORD

A potential partner in a World of Beer (WOB) franchise is suing for a return on his investment, claiming another partner breached a contract.

Nimesh Patel, LA WOB Illinois and LA WOB, also known as LA Naperville WOB LLC, filed a lawsuit Nov. 19 in Cook County Circuit Court against Chris Giokatis, WOB Illinois AD LLC, TK Elgin Inc., TG Investment Property LLC, WB Naperville LLC and World of Beer Franchising Inc..

Patel's suit alleges breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and violations of the Franchise Disclosure Act of 1987.

The complaint states that prior to Aug. 8, 2011, Giotakis represented to Patel that he had exclusive rights granted to him by World of Beer Franchising to develop the Illinois territory for the franchise's concept.

Patel claims that Giokatis said his exclusive rights were at stake and he needed money to develop the concept. According to Patel, he paid Giotakis $250,000 on Aug. 8, 2011 and signed a partnership and shareholder agreement giving each a 50 percent stake in the area development of the company.

The complaint alleges that Giokatis requested that Patel pay him $20,000 and pay $160,000 directly to World of Beer. It further claims that at the time of the payment, World of Beer was not registered as a franchisor in Illinois, but still accepted the payment.

Under the contract, Patel was responsible for paying the remaining $70,000 after he received an official letter from World of Beer approving the transfer of 50 percent stake in WOB Illinois LLC, the suit states.

According to the complaint, Patel had yet to receive any distributions from WOB Illinois as of Aug. 6, 2012 and had not received an approval letter from World of Beer Franchising.

On that day, Patel asserts, he demanded Giotakis provide him with accounting, approval letter and information about the franchise list and prospective locations.

The plaintiffs are seeking a judgment in the amount of $180,000, plus 18-percent interest per annum, attorneys' fees, costs and any other relief deemed by the court. T

hey are being represented in the case by Daniel J. Voelker and Olga S. Dmytriyeva of Voelker Litigation Group.

Circuit Court of Cook County Case No. 2013L013270.

This is a report on a civil lawsuit filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County. The details in this report come from an original complaint filed by a plaintiff. Please note, a complaint represents an accusation by a private individual, not the government. It is not an indication of guilt, and it only represents one side of the story.