Suit centers on Clear Lake franchise agreement

A Texas corporation is suing over franchise promises and undocumented aliens in Clear Lake.

Raymond Chou and TJL Service Inc. filed a lawsuit on Feb. 24 in the Harris County District Court against Ravinder Syal, Syal & Sons and James Stephenson Jr., alleging negligent misrepresentation and fraud by misrepresentation.

The plaintiffs say that in 2010, they paid the defendants $175,000 to become franchisees in Fish Place Restaurant, located at 1227 Bay Area Blvd. According to the brief, the franchise agreement included furniture, equipment and signage, but after closing the transaction, they discovered that the agreement did not exist and that several employees provided by the defendants were undocumented aliens with no right to work.

The plaintiffs are seeking actual, exemplary and treble damages, as well as attorney’s fees and court costs. They are being represented in the case by Houston attorney Robert Hohenberger.

Harris County District Court Case No. 2011-11891.

This is a report on a civil lawsuit filed at the Harris County Courthouse. The details in this report come from an original complaint filed by a plaintiff. Please note, a complaint represents an accusation by a private individual, not the government. It is not an indication of guilt, and it only represents one side of the story.