Avila v Avila in Court: Live Update

I threw our intrepid intern, Sam Todd, a fastball and, at the last minute, sent him over to cover Ricky/Ricardo Avila’s hearing at 1:30. He is outside of the courtroom and files this report from his Blackberry:

The courts just adjourned.  Ricardo is talking with 2 people in the hallway now.

The 24-hour rule is no longer in place–all things taken from the restaurant must be back in back and working by close of business on Sunday or Ricardo will be fined $500 a day. If Ricardo takes any length of time, the judge will take more extreme measures.

The plaintiffs lawyer asked where the books for the business are located. Ricardo said “at the accountants office.” The defendant’s (Ricardo) lawyer noted that without Ricardo on the property, the plaintiffs can not sell alcohol at the restaurant.

Judge Molberg said, “I’ll be damned if I see another small business closed by lawyer’s fees.” Then he asked to speak to the lawyers off the record in his chambers.

Woman with Ricardo, Suzanne, is on the phone  discussing sinks and drains. Ricky is talking about pvc, sinks, drains, and she’s relaying the information to another person. Probably a contractor.

UPDATE: Anita Avila Speaks:

Mother (Anita) is here and seems fine. She said, “I want to be in there like I was because I’m capable and I have a lot of help. It is frustrating, and I’ve never dealt with anything like this. It’s heartbreaking.” She also adds, “The restaurant has run smoothly for 20 years, but since [Peter] Tarantino came in, it’s been down. Peter wanted me out of there because he his not a nice person” Mrs. Avila also claims, “It (the restaurant) belongs to me, I never sold it to him (Ricardo).”