The Gordon Companies, a Waltham-based liquor store chain embroiled in an alleged takeover of the popular Nantucket Wine & Food Festival, must retract false announcements made last spring claiming that they had acquired, rebranded, and would continue to run the popular event under a similar name, a federal judge ordered Thursday.
“People and companies have a right to compete,” US District Judge Leo T. Sorokin wrote in a two-page preliminary injunction order. “But this case is not about fair competition. It is about a handful of false and misleading statements put out by defendants ... in an apparent attempt to run plaintiffs ... out of business.”
In June, Nancy Bean, who has owned the Nantucket festival since 2013, filed suit in US District Court in Boston against David Gordon, his company, and the White Elephant Hotel, claiming they were trying to steal her business. That lawsuit was settled last month, but some claims continued, the Globe reported.
Sorokin’s 32-page memorandum and order lays out the back story behind the case, essentially a business deal gone sour. Gordon thought he was going to partner with Bean and take over management, lent her $55,000, and furnished an attorney to help her buy out another partner.
When negotiations fell through in the fall of 2023, Bean agreed to pay off the $55,000 to Gordon via sponsorship rights at the 2024 festival.
Gordon also began “considering creating” his own event, reached out to the White Elephant Hotel, and hired the...
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