Nightlife impresario Jonathan Segal, one of the partners in Geisha LLC which owns Japonais filed suit against his partners Jeffrey Beers, Miae Lim, and Rick Wahlstedt who formed Geisha NYC, LLC to expand the Japonais concept to New York and Las Vegas, alleging that Lim et al “misappropriated the Japonais name and design”. The US seventh circuit court of appeals dismissed the case on February 22, 2008 on the grounds that proper authorization was given to Geisha NYC for the trademark. You can read all the sordid details here. Even though, the courts dismissed the lawsuit, it sure seems sneaky of your partners to throw a party without inviting you. The fact that there are branches of Japonais in New York and Las Vegas reaffirms our thoughts that the TGI Friday’s like cattle drive service and boring pan asian eats at the Chicago location have always felt like a souless chain.