As 2005 gave way to 2006, a New Year's party was blowing up in a big way at Le Jardin, a restaurant at the Art Alliance off Rittenhouse Square.
Here's the first story of this party from hell, in which food and drink ran out well before midnight, leading revelers to trash the Art Alliance.
Fingerpointing between the party organizer, Anthony DiMeo III of RENAMITY, and Le Jardin's owner, Athmane Kabir, began almost immediately.
The litigation is over, reports Andrew Touchstone, attorney for Le Jardin.
In a statement to the media, he writes:
"A legal case that Anthony Dimeo III and Renamity have settled the lawsuits Renamity v. Le Jardin/Athmane Kabir and Le Jardin v. Renamity/Dimeo out of court with a $10,000.00 settlement paid to Le Jardin restaurant owner Athmane Kabir. This matter is now fully resolved. There will be no further comment from the parties involved." (DiMeo reached out later to inform that his last name is DiMeo and that his business is spelled RENAMITY.)
Le Jardin closed early last year.
One more legal matter remains, as the Art Alliance is suing Kabir and Le Jardin's corporation, 18th and Rittenhouse Square Restaurant LLC, over the lease. Common Pleas Court records show a judgment for $43,489.93.
Federal bankruptcy court records show that the restaurant filed for Chapter 11 in early 2007. The case was converted to Chapter 7. Judge Bruce Fox dismissed the bankruptcy petition in August 2007 when the debtor failed to appear at several hearings.