Roy Pickleball Facility’s Legal Battle: A prominent pickleball brand in northern Utah is facing legal action after being accused of taking over a rival’s facility without paying. The lawsuit, filed earlier this month, claims that The Kitchen Pickleball Club took control of Outta-The-Jar Pickleball in Roy without fulfilling financial agreements.
The Initial Deal and Franchise Agreement
The Kitchen, which operates locations in Kaysville, Woods Cross, and Pleasant View, and is planning a site in Mountain Green, contacted Outta-The-Jar’s owners in July after the business was listed for sale at $395,000. According to the lawsuit filed by Outta-The-Jar’s manager and partner, Brian Horne, the decision to sell stemmed from declining revenues, prompting the partners to explore franchise options or find additional investors.
Since revenues were down, the partners/members sought to change the business direction by either looking for an existing franchise to join, or to sell their pickleball business, or to find additional investors that could join the members with additional capital to augment marketing efforts.” – (Brian Horne)
Three days after the business listing went live, The Kitchen’s owner, Britton Black, reached out to Horne. He asked, “Are you actively trying to sell the location? We are excited about turning this thing around as a KITCHEN.” Subsequently, talks began about converting Outta-The-Jar into a franchise under The Kitchen’s brand.
Facility Improvements and Conversion Plans
As part of the agreement, Outta-The-Jar’s management was instructed to make significant improvements to the facility. These changes included painting the courts red and gray, reworking the walls and floors, and creating “hangout areas” typical of other Kitchen locations. The upgrades were meant to align the facility with The Kitchen’s brand.
Change of Plans and Disagreement Over Payment
By the end of August, Horne and a partner signed a franchise agreement and sent it to The Kitchen for review. However, after a trip to Alaska, the Kitchen owners reportedly reversed their decision, opting instead to purchase the facility outright and take over the lease. They offered Horne’s team $200,000 — half paid upfront and the remainder after one year.
After negotiations, the agreement was accepted, and by September, Outta-The-Jar’s management transferred access to various business assets, including security cameras, court reservation software, and customer databases. Furthermore, Horne and his team agreed to redirect the facility’s website to The Kitchen’s.
The Fallout
Despite agreeing to the $200,000 buyout, communication quickly soured. On September 27, Horne received a message from Britton Black stating that The Kitchen would not be paying any additional money, claiming the value of Outta-The-Jar was effectively “$0.”
Black explained that the money previously allocated to Horne would be redirected to the landlord to release them from the lease agreement, and no further compensation would be provided.
“Brian, I’ll just shoot you straight here. We never agreed to pay you anything for Outta the Jar. We said we’d consider it. With how this all turned out during new lease negotiations, all the money that we’d even consider paying you is going from us to the landlord to release you from your agreement and allow us to even do business there. Outta The Jar, in our minds, is worth $0.00. We won’t be paying you any additional money outside of the taking over the court re-coloring and the couches.” – (Britton Black)
Horne expressed his frustration with the message, realizing that all the improvements and investments made to the facility — valued at over $300,000 — were now effectively nullified.
Legal Action
Horne’s attorney sent a formal demand for payment on October 1, accusing The Kitchen of unjustly benefiting from the improvements without fulfilling the agreed-upon compensation. Despite attempts at mediation, The Kitchen did not respond, leading to the filing of a lawsuit in Utah’s 2nd District Court. A hearing date has not yet been set.
“I assume you have likely been expecting this type of demand letter. Rather than go through the effort to set out all of the legal and factual arguments detailing how you received over $200,000 in value of assets from Outta-The-Jar and how you have failed to compensate Outta-The-Jar as agreed, I will just highlight that you were unjustly enriched by obtaining through ruse Outta-The-Jar’s assets, and you need to pay as agreed.” – (attorney Jered Edgmon)
Key Points
- Legal action filed: Outta-The-Jar Pickleball claims The Kitchen took over its Roy facility without paying.
- Franchise agreement: Discussions began in July, but The Kitchen opted to purchase the pickleball facility instead.
- Facility improvements: Major renovations were made under the assumption of a fair payout.
- Dispute over payment: The Kitchen claims no further payment is due, calling the value of the business “$0.”
- Ongoing lawsuit: Horne’s legal team continues to pursue compensation.
News in Brief: Roy Pickleball Facility’s Legal Battle
A lawsuit filed by Brian Horne, manager of Outta-The-Jar Pickleball in Roy, accuses The Kitchen pickleball club of taking over the business without compensating for improvements made to the pickleball facility. After initial negotiations for a franchise agreement, The Kitchen allegedly decided not to honor a $200,000 buyout deal. The case remains in legal proceedings with no court date set.
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