DENVER (AP) — A Lakewood, Colo., restaurant that entertains diners with a 30-foot waterfall, cliff divers and staged gunfights is suing Larry H. Miller's Mayan restaurant, labeling it as a copycat.
In a lawsuit filed in federal court Friday, the owners and operators of Casa Bonita claim the Utah Jazz owner "brazenly copied" them when he opened the Mayan in March.
The lawsuit, which alleges violations of intellectual property, copyright law and unfair competition, seeks an injunction that would force The Mayan to shut down or remodel.
It claims each restaurant has 30-foot indoor waterfalls and a stage for divers as well as a children's puppet theater, animated characters, a video arcade and hidden trails and caves.
"We want the waterfall out and cliff divers out and the other stuff that makes The Mayan confusingly similar to ours," said Thomas Kirby, a Washington, D.C., attorney representing Casa Bonita.
The restaurants also have identical ordering systems, similar menus and a number of other features, according to the lawsuit, which claims Miller and his wife visited Casa Bonita before opening the Sandy restaurant.
"If Miller can take how we have identified ourselves and use it, then tourists will be confused and the distinctiveness of our identification will be blurred. That is what trademark law is all about," he said.
The lawsuit says Miller began visiting Casa Bonita in 1996 with the intent of copying the restaurant. It claims he asked to review Casa Bonita's financial records but was turned away.
A spokeswoman for Miller said Thursday he would have no immediate comment on the lawsuit. "We haven't seen any court papers, just the news story in the Denver Post," she said.