Sammy HagarHis company is asking a federal judge to shut down an allegedly unauthorized Hollywood location of his Cabo Wabo Cantina, claiming a former franchisee has wronged and damaged the rock star's reputation.
Lawyers for Hagar's company (Red Head Inc.) sued last month, alleging that the franchisee Robert Azignan had opened a new Cabo Wabo on Hollywood Boulevard across from the TCL Chinese Theatre, even though the licensing deal had ended. Now, in a new filing Monday, they asked for an immediate injunction preventing Azinian from continuing to use the name or any other company branding at his new restaurant.
“Every day that Cabo Wabo Cantina at the new Hollywood location continues to operate under the 'Cabo Wabo' name, it tarnishes the name, reputation and goodwill that Red Head has developed,” the company's lawyers wrote. “The defendants were instructed to cease all use of the marks but ignored this request.”
Hagar and his Van Halen bandmates opened Cabo Wabo Cantina in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico in 1990. After buying out his partners, he later launched a line of tequila with the same name. Hagar sold the beverage brand to Gruppo Campari for $101 million, but Red Head Inc. continues to operate the restaurant in Campo and later franchise locations in Las Vegas and Los Angeles.
Last month, Red Head sued Azinian in California federal court, claiming he was essentially wronged after years of successfully managing the Los Angeles location. The lawsuit alleged that Azinian had closed his original location on Hollywood Boulevard and “surreptitiously” relocated across the street, all without seeking the required approvals. They warned that the new Cabo Wabo was already causing confusion with customers, citing comments on Instagram such as one in which one user asked “is Sammy Hagar still online?”
In Monday's filing, Red Head reiterated those arguments in seeking a preliminary injunction, which would prevent Azinian from continuing to use any Cabo Wabo brand while the case plays out. Without such an order, Hagar's company warned that the unauthorized restaurant could cause serious damage to Cabo Wabo's reputation.
“Defendants continue to use the Cabo Wabo marks in connection with the operation of the restaurant – but Red Head has no oversight, control, or even visibility into the quality of any aspect of Defendants' business, such as the quality of the decor, the quality of staff, quality of materials or quality of food,” the lawyers write. “Red Head currently has no control over any of this.”
Neither side immediately returned requests for comment Tuesday.
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