GALVESTON - Toni Ari Niki Inc. is pursuing legal action against Brat Tanning LLC for alleged breach of contract which caused $325,000 in damages.
A lawsuit filed Feb. 9 in Galveston County District Court asserts Brat "intentionally misrepresented that it would pay the plaintiff for the business, that it would properly account for all revenues and expenses and that it would properly operate the business."
Court papers show the plaintiff owned a tanning salon called Boca Tan in League City, and in November 2008, entered into an agreement with Brat to sell a majority of its assets for a total purchase price of $325,000.
The agreement also required Brat to provide Tan access to full banking and financial records as well as pay the complainant 49 percent of the net profits of the business on a quarterly basis.
There is a non-exclusive default provision in the agreement requiring full payment of the purchase price within five years of the effective date of said agreement, and the purchaser is also in default if it fails in any performance required, the suit says.
Tan explains that it received a payment of $2,400 during the entire pendency of the agreement, adding it discovered "thousands of dollars of personal and unrelated business expenses had been charged to Boca Tan and caused the salon to default on outstanding obligations."
According to the plaintiff, the charges are in excess of $21,000 for just a three-month period in 2011.
Brat proceeded to close the salon in mid-September 2011, breaching the existing lease for which Tan and its principal, Tony Kostakis, remain responsible, the suit says.
TAN asserts BRAT "then removed the equipment, inventory and other assets and moved them to another separately operated tanning salon," stating it was ultimately denied access to its property that was taken to a storage facility.
Attorney Michael S. Burg of Houston is representing the plaintiff, and Galveston County 405th District Court Judge Wayne Mallia is presiding over the case.
Case No. 12-cv-207
Suit filed over tanning salon sale
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