The Trump Organization on Monday announced that it had settled its lawsuit against restaurateur Geoffrey Zakarian, who in 2015 pulled out of plans to open a restaurant in the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C.
“After an intense, two-year legal battle, we are pleased we were able to amicably resolve our differences and wish Geoffrey continued success,” Donald Trump Jr. said in a joint statement with Zakarian obtained by the New York Times.
The restaurateur also “acknowledged his satisfaction with the resolution” in the statement.
Zakarian in 2015 pulled out of plans to open a restaurant in the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C. after Donald Trump, then a Republican presidential candidate, called Mexican immigrants “rapists” and drug dealers in the first speech of his campaign.
“The recent statements surrounding Mexican immigrants by Donald Trump do not in any way align with my personal core values,” Zakarian said in a statement in June 2015.
One day before the 2016 election, Zakarian put his decision in simpler terms during an interview with the Village Voice.
“My buddy Donald, he fucked up,” Zakarian said. “He opened his fucking mouth.”
Trump sued Zakarian in 2015 for $10 million, and BuzzFeed released the video deposition from that lawsuit in September 2016.
The Trump Organization on Friday reached a settlement with chef José Andrés, who also backed out of plans to open a restaurant in Trump’s D.C. luxury hotel as a result of the same remarks. Trump filed a $10 million lawsuit against Andres for a breach of contract.
They did not announce terms of either settlement agreement.
