Trial of Weho Eatery Dispute Involving Former Madonna Flame Delayed

A lawsuit over a defunct West Hollywood restaurant, involving an ex-con nightclub entrepreneur who has been romantically linked to Madonna and other celebrities, will not go to trial Monday as scheduled, a judge has ruled in granting the latest postponement in the case.

After both sides Tuesday agreed to a delay in the start of the trial because of scheduling conflicts, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge David Minning told lawyers to come back Jan. 20 so he can set a new trial date.

In December 2008, businesswoman Sandy Sachs and psychologist Robin Gans sued former Miami nightclub owner Chris Paciello over the remodeling and operation of Murano, alleging negligent misrepresentation, breach-of-contract and detrimental reliance.

This week's delay is another in a series of aborted starts for the trial. In January, Minning said he wanted the case to be before a jury within a week, but later granted continuances until May and later to this coming Monday. Now, the case will be more than three years old before jury selection begins.

Paciello, who dated Madonna in the early 1990s, has also been romantically linked to actresses Jennifer Lopez and Sofia Vergara, former MTV host Daisy Fuentes and models Niki Taylor and Naomi Campbell.

According to the Sachs-Gans court papers, Paciello -- whose real name is Christian Ludwigsen -- told them in June 2008 that he was interested in investing $600,000 in their restaurant in exchange for 50 percent of the company's common stock.

But Sachs and Gans found out Paciello was a felon and banned from owning stock in a business that sells alcohol, their lawsuit states.

Paciello, a Brooklyn, N.Y., native spent seven years in prison. In October 2000, he pleaded guilty to a 1993 murder and armed robbery for being the getaway driver in a home-invasion robbery in Staten Island, N.Y., in which a housewife, Judith Shemtov, was fatally shot.

According to the lawsuit, Paciello agreed to lend Gans and Sachs $600,000 if they agreed to remodel Murano and reopen by Labor Day with a chef picked by him.

"(Paciello) assured (the women) that with his celebrity connections like Kevin Connolly, Leonardo DiCaprio -- who is producing a movie about the nightclub king's life -- Madonna and many more, that (Murano) would become the hot spot in Los Angeles," the suit states.

Although Gans and Sachs completed the improvements, Paciello loaned them only $246,240, claiming he could not provide the rest because he was "broke," the suit states. Murano is now closed.

Paciello, 40, countersued in January 2009, naming Sachs and Gans, as well as their business venture, Murano Ristorante Partners Inc., as defendants. The complaint has been consolidated with the Sachs-Gans suit, but Valerie Horn, the attorney for both women, said she expects Gans to be dismissed as a defendant.

He alleges 11 causes of action that include fraud and deceit, breach of a written contract and both intentional and negligent misrepresentation.

Paciello's suit states that he gave the women $400,000, and they promised to make him the "front man" at Murano, with a management fee distribution equal to half of Murano's profits. Instead, Sachs "exerted control over every aspect of the restaurant, most of the time detrimentally interfering with management and operation," the suit states.

The $400,000 Paciello claimed he lent the women has not been repaid, according to his suit.

Paciello formerly owned the nightclubs Liquid and Bar Room in Miami's South Beach area, as well as the Cristoni Pizzeria locations in Beverly Hills and West Hollywood. He recently returned to Miami Beach to help revitalize the fortunes of the Delano Hotel as a destination spot for celebrities.

Kings of South Beach, a film loosely based on Paciello's life in Florida, was released by the A&E Network in 2007.

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