HOUSTON – A Houston restaurant that was the target of three Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission-led raids at the beginning of 2015 has pursued legal action against a law firm it hired to work with Austin, recent Harris County District Court records indicate.
RBF3963 Kirby LP, doing business as Ruggles Black, in a lawsuit filed Mar. 29 in the Harris County 334th District Court, explains that it engaged with the Law Offices of Robert Levine, P.C. in late 2014 to administer, file, and pay tax returns concerning its liquor license.
Nearly $150,000 were reportedly paid to the firm for Ruggles Black’s sales tax liability between September 2014 and May 2015.
The plaintiff alleges that the TBAC and the state’s sales tax enforcement office then conducted raids on the eatery for non-payment of taxes. Despite the raids, the original petition states, the parties’ working relationship continued in an effort to render a full accounting with Austin, as well as resolve all issues.
About $50,000 in outstanding tax liability remains unpaid, per the complainant.
A jury trial is requested.
Attorneys Lance Christopher Kassab and David Eric Kassab of The Kassab Law Firm in Houston are representing Ruggles Black’s operating entity.
Harris County 334th District Court Case No. 2017-21472