Bodybuilder Fired After Turning Over Training Facility To Founder of Equinox Fitness And Manhattan Restauranteur
Date: March 17, 2006
Richard Barretta, former Mr. America and personal trainer to celebrities such as Pierce Brosnan and Michael J. Fox, filed suit in New York State Supreme Court against The Gym, a luxury training facility where he worked as Operations Manager. Also named in the suit are The Gym’s owners Danny Errico, founder of Equinox Fitness Clubs, Manhattan restauranteur Stephen Hanson and Hanson’s company, B. R. Guest, which operates over a dozen high profile eateries such as Ruby Foo’s and the Blue Water Grill.
Barretta’s suit involves a multi-tiered deal in which Barretta and his business partners from a gym venture called Duomo assigned Errico and Hanson the lease for the space on E. 26th Street in Manhattan. Errico and Hanson then took over the Duomo location, including about 3 million dollars in improvements, with a view toward opening an exclusive facility with just 1500 members. As part of the deal, Barretta entered into a five year employment contract with The Gym, which included a provision to develop state of the art fitness programs such as Barretta’s trademarked workout, Afterburn.
Barretta’s complaint alleges that Errico negotiated the deal with Barretta while he was restrained by a non-compete agreement with Equinox Fitness Clubs, holder of a brand he and siblings Lavinia and Vito sold in 2001 for 180 million dollars, according to media reports. The complaint also charges that Errico insisted that the de facto sale of Barretta’s Duomo gym to Errico and Hanson be structured as a lease assignment to avoid any appearance that Errico was violating the non-compete with Equinox.
Trading on Barretta’s name, according to the complaint, Errico and Hanson then trumpeted the opening of their high end club, while simultaneously refusing to pay Barretta the salary or percentages owed to him under the contract. A B. R. Guest newsletter published at the time described The Gym as a B. R. Guest project in conjunction with the Erricos and with the help of Barretta, a “fitness industry guru.” Eventually, says Barretta, his employment at The Gym was terminated without cause in violation of the contract, and the staff excluded him from the club, thus depriving him of the facilities needed to maintain relationships with his private training clients.
Mr. Barretta is seeking monetary relief including compensatory and punitive damages.
Tuckner, Sipser, Weinstock & Sipser, LLP is a Plaintiff’s labor and employment law firm in NYC. For more information about the case, or to obtain a copy of the state court complaint, contact Jack Tuckner or William Sipser at 212.766.9100 or jtuckner@womensrightsny.com or wjsipser@womensrightsny.com