Stress daw ang inabot sa 'di pagbabayad... GRACE, KINASUHAN NA ANG BUYER NG RESTO NIYA

ni Reggee Bonoan @Sheet Matters | August 7, 2023

Nagsampa ng kasong estafa and other deceits under Art. 318, par. 1(a) of the Revised Penal Code ang dating newscaster and TV host na si Grace Lee sa mga nagngangalang Morgan Say at April Tena — officers and directors ng Chefs and Cooks Management Corporation o Chefs and Cooks nitong Biyernes, Agosto 4 sa Makati Prosecutors Office, Makati City Hall sa ganap na alas-kuwatro nang hapon.

Kasama ni Grace ang mga abogado niyang sina Atty. Gabriel Ilaya, Atty. Sarah Francisco at Atty. Gareth Tungol ng DivinaLaw Office nang magsampa siya ng kaso sa opisina ni Assistant City Prosecutor Rafael Rodrigo S. Esguerra.

Ang pinagtatalunan dito ay ang dating pag-aaring Korean Restaurant ng kilalang personalidad na Sumdimsum Foods, Inc. na matatagpuan sa Makati City. Bati muna ni Grace Lee sa mga dating kasamahan sa media, “It’s unfortunate that I’m facing and being in front of the camera this way, Makati Court of all places. My heart’s broken about it but through the help of Atty. Garreth Tungol, we’ve gotten here and we filed a case for what we thought was very necessary.”

Ayon sa dating CEO ng Sumdimsum Foods, Inc. ay noong Nobyembre 2022 ay nagpadala ng mensahe si Ginoong Morgan sa kanya at interesadong bilhin ang pag-aari nitong restaurant and assets kasama ang Shanghai Saloon Podium at Molito branches na kaagad namang tinanggihan ito ng dalaga.

At dahil persistent si Ginoong Morgan na ilang beses pinuntahan si Grace sa kanyang restaurant at maganda ang offer ay napapayag na siya kasama ang kanyang mga stockholders. Nang magkasundo na sa terms at assigned ownership ng Sumdimsum kay Ginoong Morgan ay dito na nagkaroon ng pagbabago.

Kuwento ni Grace Lee, “Ilang beses talaga kaming nag-reach out, actually, even before I sought the legal counsel kay Atty.. Ako mismo, ilang beses na, pati mga tao (staff) namin (and) numerous times talaga na kinausap sila nang maayos. Parang they were not willing to negotiate and not respond to us, kaya humingi na ako ng tulong kay Atty. (Garreth).

“We opened (restaurant) a week before the pandemic (2020). So, isipin n’yo, sabi nga ni BTS Blood, Sweat and Tears (kanta ng BTS) that went into this business dahil sa pandemic, lahat naman ng FNB (food and beverage) nag-suffer, but I’m very proud of my team and my people dahil we survived the pandemic and we came this far.”

At nabanggit na nga na hindi niya planong ibenta ang negosyo niya, “Actually, sila ang lumapit and it came to a point na hindi nila or no longer sila willing to fulfill their end of the deal. It’s been six months since the deadline. So, isipin n’yo rin talaga ‘yung 6 months na ‘yan was very, very stressful for me also and my staff that’s why we seek the best counsel that I could get.”

Ipinaliwanag naman ni Atty. Garreth Tungkol, “We have filed cases for other deceits against the oozing party, we are also allegedly misrepresentation from the start of the contract, from the transaction they have been misrepresented to our client, misrepresented facts to our client and even in the course of negotiation, there is also been misrepresentation in order to delay payment.

It’s not a simple collection suit what we are after here is the fact that there was fraud against our client.”

Nasambit din ng legal counsel ni Grace na hindi sa amount o magkano pa ang kakulangang kabayaran ng respondent ang focus nila kundi ang fraud na ginawa sa kanilang kliyente

“The claim here is immaterial to us it’s the fraud that we’re going to after. The claim here will always be earned back, kikitain natin ‘yan,” pahayag ng abogado.

Samantala, tinanong kung nami-miss ba ni Grace na muling humarap sa camera o balikan ang dating trabaho.

“Medyo busy pa po ako behind the camera doing production, distribution of Korean content, so, medyo busy po muna ako being behind the camera, but soon enough I’ll greet you again in front of the camera, malay n’yo mag-Korean telenovela ako, hindi natin alam ‘yan, you’ll never know at 40 (years old). I’ll change my career, hahaha!” masayang sagot ni Grace.