Popular Florida author Randy Wayne White has filed a lawsuit against HM Restaurant Group, the current owner of Doc Ford’s restaurants, alleging breach of contract and unauthorized use of his intellectual property.
White, who created the Doc Ford character and owns all rights to the Doc Ford books, claims the restaurant group has failed to pay required royalties and misused his intellectual property.
According to the lawsuit, the dispute stems from a 2003 agreement when White licensed Island House Restaurant Limited Partnership the right to develop theme restaurants based on his Doc Ford character. Island House operated Doc Ford restaurants in various Florida locations, including Lee County, until its dissolution in 2015…