Emmitt Smith gets sued by investors after suffering $67M loss from Las Vegas restaurant

Emmitt Smith, a three-time Super Bowl champion and former Cowboys running back, is being sued by investors for allegedly breaking his obligations to a Las Vegas restaurant. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Emmitt's was slated to open at the city's Fashion Show Mall in 2022.

Celebrity chef Rainer Schwarz filed the complaint. He was supposed to take part in this project, but he claims that several business partners broke their promises. The complaint asserts,

"... planned a scheme to steal the chance to open and run Emmitt's for themselves, completely cutting out Chef Rainer LLC and Trilogy."

Trilogy is the operating agreement that Trilogy F&B Group LLC, one of the four parties cited in the case, signed into in October 2021. Although Emmitt Smith isn't specifically mentioned in the case, his limited liability corporation is. District Court for Clark County received the complaint.

The defendants in this case also include Valley Water Mill LLC, a minority owner of Trilogy, and its individual members. Another defendant, Gillett Construction LLC of Vegas, is accused of altering the restaurant's locks so that chef Schwarz and others could not enter. They claim that the defendants gave tours of Emmitt's to rival chefs and vendors using the chef's limited liability firm, Chef Rainer LLC.

In order to supplant Chef Rainer LLC and usurp its powers under the Management Agreement, the lawsuit claims that the defendants "...unlawfully assigned Trilogy's lease to Valley Water Mill... including by engaging alternate vendors and contractors."

The lawsuit claims that Chef Rainer LLC has spent more than $2.2 million on expenses thus far. They cite employing new employees, vendor contracts, kitchen equipment, utilities, tableware, and stemware among their expenses. A beautiful ceiling and a central staircase must also be designed and ordered for the restaurant. Out of that, supposedly $1.1 million is still owed.

Additionally, according to Chef Rainer LLC, the management agreement entitles it to more than $67 million in salary and profit sharing payments, which it will not get until the defendants are restrained.

The unfortunate journey of Emmitt Smith's restaurant in the heart of the global entertainment industry ends here.