Former partners go to court in bar wars

A feud has erupted between hotelier Ian Schrager and his former partner, bar owner Rande Gerber.

The two have been at odds since Gerber partnered with Schrager's rival, Starwood Hotels and Resorts, opening bars in Starwood's W hotels.

A spokesman for Gerber said that he had ended his association with Schrager last December when he moved the Whiskey bar from Schrager's Paramount hotel in New York to the new W New York Times Square.

Gerber's Midnight Oil Company said that Schrager opened a bar in the vacated space and also called it the Whiskey, infringing the original's trademark. Following a court order brought by Gerber in May, Schrager announced this month that he had changed the name to the Paramount Bar.

But while Gerber claimed victory in the spat, lawyers for Schrager last week claimed otherwise. They said that the court proceedings were a device to "delay and deflect attention" from similar legal action taken by Schrager against Gerber in April.

In that lawsuit, Ian Schrager Hotels (ISH) accused Gerber of trademark infringement over an alleged attempt by Gerber to register "Skybar", the name of the bar at Schrager's Mondrian hotel in Hollywood, which Gerber used to run. Schrager's company also takes issue with Gerber's use of the name Whiskey Sky at two W properties in the USA.

ISH said that it had changed the name at the Paramount voluntarily to clear the way for the Skybar case.

Midnight Oil refused to comment. by Gillian Drummond