Sloppy Tuna's Court-Appointed Receiver Fires Back

The controversial beachfront bar in downtown Montauk, Sloppy Tuna, will open on schedule this season, the court-appointed receiver for the business promised Wednesday. "I have every intention of making sure the restaurant opens on time and has a successful season," Charles C. Russo wrote in a scathing letter to the attorneys involved in the cross lawsuits between the two warring partners in the business, Michael Meyer and Drew Doscher.

The letter was directly triggered by a posting of Mr. Doscher's on the Sloppy Tuna Facebook page on Tuesday night that informed the "Sloppy nation" that the hot spot as they know it "will not be opening at the same location in Montauk this summer" and railing against an order by New York State Supreme Court Justice Jerry Garguilo that would place the club under temporary control of Mr. Russo.

On Wednesday Mr. Russo demanded that Mr. Doscher turn over by Friday the more than $1 million the business has in a Chase Bank to a receivership account Mr. Russo has created at Bridgehampton National Bank.

Mr. Russo said in his letter to the attorneys that Mr. Doscher's Facebook posting was in direct violation of the court order, which stipulated that Mr. Doscher is "restrained from interfering in any way" with the receiver's operation of the business.

Mr. Russo, who also filed the letter with the clerk for Justice Garguilo, demanded that Mr. Doscher remove the posting and substitute a retraction instead. He also asked that Mr. Doscher be instructed to contact all news outlets to alert them to the retraction.

Mr. Russo's warned that if Mr. Doscher does not comply with his demands, he risks facing criminal charges of contempt of court.