A handful of residential neighbors who filed a lawsuit against the Turkey Leg Hut (TLH) two weeks ago claiming smoke from the restaurant to be a public health hazard, have dropped their lawsuit and requested an unconditional dismissal of the suit this morning, December 9, 2019.

The move comes a little over a week after attorneys for the Turkey Leg Hut successfully won the court battle to remove temporary limits on smoking hours through the holiday week and exposed email evidence that reveals the motives for filing the lawsuit were not based on urgent public health concerns, but rather the desire to eliminate a popular and busy restaurant from the plaintiffs’ neighborhood.

The emails between opponents of the restaurant clearly state the “ultimate goal of this litigation is obviously for the TLH to be somewhere else and not on our corner, but that cannot be the stated goal.” The emails also show strategies to mask the “ultimate goal” to close the restaurant and document any possible nuisance aspects of the restaurant.

"From the moment we were engaged, we suspected this was not about smoke but rather about forcing the Turkey Leg Hut out of its location,” said Jane Robinson, an attorney with the Turkey Leg Hut’s legal team from AZA Law Firm. “We were not about to let that happen. We are pleased that these neighbors have elected to drop the suit quickly and proud to have had the opportunity to fight for Turkey Leg Hut."

The lawsuit, initially filed on Wednesday, November 20, 2019, by the attorney for six neighbors in the Third Ward, sought an emergency temporary restraining order to prevent the restaurant from using smokers to prepare their turkey legs during TLH’s biggest week of the year; the Thanksgiving holiday and a charitable giveaway of 3,000 turkey legs to the community. The lawsuit also sought a permanent injunction on the restaurant’s operations, based on unsubstantiated claims of an urgent public health, and attorneys fees.

“We’re pleased the plaintiffs voluntarily requested an unconditional dismissal of this unfounded lawsuit today,” said John Zavitsanos, Lead Counsel for the Turkey Leg Hut. “For the past two weeks, the plaintiffs and their attorney have publicly villainized the Turkey Leg Hut and its founders, falsely claiming the restaurant to be an illegal operation, a health hazard and a public nuisance, run by people who don’t care about the health and wellbeing of the community, and who are somehow above the laws in the City of Houston. Unfortunately, this lawsuit has damaged the good name of our clients, their reputation, and their business operations.”

“This has been an extremely challenging ordeal for our family, but we are so grateful for all the love and support we’ve received from the community,” said Nakia Price, Co-Founder of the Turkey Leg Hut. “My husband, Lynn, and I want to thank our amazing legal team, our staff, customers and the community for seeing us through the challenges of these past few weeks. We love our home here in the Third Ward and will continue to do our best to be good neighbors, bring people together, and help the community here thrive.”

The Turkey Leg Hut remains in full compliance with all ordinances, permits and health codes for operation in the City of Houston. The owners have been actively working with the City of Houston and all its agencies since they opened on Almeda in December of 2017, to ensure they remain compliant and address the concerns of their neighbors, including the voluntary purchase of a DB noise meter to monitor sound levels to ensure the noise levels are in compliance with city regulations, 141 parking spaces above and beyond city requirements, and full disclosure of all impending plans and permits to enclose, ventilate and regulate their smoking pit area to the Museum Park Super Neighborhood Planning Committee prior to the filing and dismissal of the plaintiffs’ lawsuit.