If you’ve spent any time watching this season of The Real Housewives of Orange County, you know that the Jim Edmonds, husband of cast member Meghan King Edmonds, is one grumpy mother f**ker.
Meghan often complains about how infrequently she sees her husband. And the 30-year-old stay-at-home stepmom says the irritable baseball legend constantly leaves home to deal with unnamed business in St. Louis.
According to Radar Online, there isn't just a stick up Jim's a**. There might be a real reason for his unbearable grumpiness.
The 45-year-old St. Louis Cardinals alum and restaurateur has been dealing with a major lawsuit that could consume his fortune and business!
U.S. district court documents disclosed that restaurateur Jeff Ruby, owner of Cincinnati steakhouse The Precinct, sued Edmonds and his company, MSW LLC, for trademark infringement.
The baseball star opened up a restaurant with the same name as Ruby’s eatery.
Edmonds, who owns the St. Louis bar and grill The Precinct, “has embarked in a deliberate and willful campaign to circumvent and misappropriate Plaintiff’s exclusive rights in the Precinct Mark and the goodwill associated herewith,” according to the 2013 documents.
In other words, this sh*t was intentional.
Before Edmonds opened his restaurant in October 2013, according to Ruby, he had dined at the Cincinnati Precinct “several times.”
Edmonds played for the Cincinnati Reds in 2010, so he had frequented the restaurant. His attorneys even admitted that Edmonds had been to the restaurant. However, they denied any trademark infringement.
Ruby claimed, “Edmonds became uniquely and intimately aware of Plaintiff’s iconic Precinct restaurant.” Ruby even alleged that Edmonds imitated the eatery’s name, decor, and dress.
In addition to seeking financial compensation for damages, Ruby wanted Edmond’s joint shut down.
Attorneys for Edmonds filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit. But a judge shot down the request.
It took more than a year of back-and-forth legal business, but the two parties finally settled out of court.
The case was dismissed on May 27, 2015. It’s probably not a coincidence then that Edmonds’ restaurant closed on May 20, a week prior to settling the suit.
Meghan Edmonds joined the cast of The Real Housewives of Orange County this season. Since her arrival on the show, Jim has been featured throughout the season as a grumpy, chauvinistic husband who rarely says anything nice to his wife.
Maybe being privy to this information will help viewers tolerate his prickly behavior? Probably not. He just sucks.