Mikaila Fargnoli ‘15, a co-owner of Stadium 138, a local restaurant and bar, filed a lawsuit against her two business partners for allegedly violating a noncompetition agreement.

Filed on Oct. 14, the complaint alleges that Richard David, who served as mayor of Binghamton from 2014 to 2021, and Kristopher Kasmarcik, violated the owners’ agreement when they took steps to open Blazin’ Saddles, another bar and restaurant located about 350 feet away from Stadium 138. According to Fargnoli’s lawyer, Ronald Benjamin, the agreement prohibited any partner from establishing a competing business within a two-mile radius of Stadium 138 without the unanimous consent of all parties.

“They took employees from Stadium, they siphoned off booze, they brought liquor bottles out, they took equipment, glasses, they took all kinds of stuff,” Benjamin said in an interview with Pipe Dream. “And then they hired some employees that were working at Stadium to come work at Blazin’ Saddles. Those are the allegations with the noncompetition [clause].”

In the complaint, Fargnoli requested a court order mandating that Blazin’ Saddles halt operations. She also requested damages from David and Kasmarcik for violating their fiduciary duties, filed a claim of unjust enrichment and asked for RMK Association and Confluence Properties, two limited liability companies in which David and Kasmarcik are members, to be dissolved.

According to the complaint, Blazin’ Saddles has brought Fargnoli’s business “to the brink of collapse.” During Blazin’ Saddles’ opening week in September, Stadium 138’s sales dropped by 33.21 percent compared to the same week last year, followed by a 46.22 percent drop the next week and a 51.8 percent drop the week after that, the complaint alleged.

Fargnoli told Pipe Dream that over the summer, she learned that Stadium 138 was financially troubled with unpaid taxes and mounting debt. She said David and Kasmarcik excluded her from the business’s finances and did not inform her of the bar’s fiscal health.

“As a woman in the industry, it was disheartening to learn about this situation through our accountant, rather than being informed by my own partners,” Fargnoli said in an interview. “I had always been left in the dark regarding the finances, making this shocking revelation all the more distressing. The lack of transparency not only put the future of our business at risk, but also left me feeling undervalued and sidelined in decision-making.”

It was around this time, Fargnoli said, that she discovered her partners opened Blazin’ Saddles without her consent, violating the noncompetition agreement. She alleged that David and Kasmarcik siphoned resources and workers from Stadium 138, while demanding she contribute thousands of dollars to pay back their loans and other bills.

Fargnoli also told Pipe Dream that after suffering a miscarriage following Stadium 138’s opening, her partners paid her “unequally” during the 2024 fiscal year because of her absence. She said that they “prioritized financial considerations” over her “emotional well-being.”

After speaking out against their actions, Fargnoli said David and Kasmarcik sent an email informing her she was no longer allowed to handle Stadium 138’s day-to-day operations, including managing, hiring and bartending, which she was previously responsible for.

“I feel very intimidated by their actions,” Fargnoli said. “They have, by their own mistaken belief, tried to remove me from managerial and day-to-day operations. It’s retaliatory. They’re telling me I can’t work at my business? I can’t manage? I can’t do all the things that I’ve done for the last two years?”

In a Facebook post, Fargnoli said she was seeking a licensed security professional to accompany her on Friday and Saturday nights while she works.

Kurt Schrader, the attorney representing David and Kasmarcik, said in a statement that his clients “generally deny the claims presented.”

“I read the complaint, I’ve spoken to my clients, I’ve done an investigation,” Schrader said in an interview with Pipe Dream. “Based on all those things, I don’t believe that the claim is meritorious, and we intend to defend against it and ask the court to see it the same way.”

Fargnoli explained that the actions of her business partners have left her feeling “devalued” and that their lawyers “act like I am nothing.”

There is currently a motion in place to request that the court shut down Blazin’ Saddles, which will be heard on Nov. 14. Fargnoli said she is willing to take the case to trial if necessary.

“If my story gives even one woman the courage to say enough, then this pain will have a purpose,” Fargnoli said. “I’m not backing down, not out of anger, but out of love for what I built, pride in my work and a promise to myself that I won’t just vanish because it’s inconvenient to others.”

Kasmarcik referred Pipe Dream to Schrader for comment about the case.