Actor Jim Belushi and his New York-based company on Friday filed a second lawsuit in just two days tied to a Chicago comedy club, according to court documents.
In the lawsuit, filed in Cook County district court, Belushi and his company Bessie Blu claim Kyle Lane, co-owner of The Comedy Bar, failed to pay Belushi more than $38,000 in expenses and payment related to promotional work.
In early 2013, Belushi and Lane agreed that Belushi would promote Lane and his River North comedy club in exchange for a cut of the club’s business, including a one-third interest in The Comedy Bar and a third of booking or management fees, according to the lawsuit.
Belushi, who was in the cast of “Saturday Night Live” in the 1980s, claims in the suit that Lane delayed and found excuses for not signing the agreement.
By March 2015 Belushi said he gave 30 free performances, normally requiring a payment of $30,000 to $50,000 each, gave multiple radio and newspaper interviews and TV appearances and promoted Lane and The Comedy Bar at about two dozen high-end Chicago hotels, but received no payment, according to the lawsuit.
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The lawsuit also claims he racked up more than $38,000 in expenses related to the promotional work.
Bessie Blu and Lane also drafted an agreement that would let The Comedy Bar use the trademark “Belushi’s Comedy Bar” in exchange for royalties, the lawsuit states.
As part of the same agreement, Bessie Blu paid for and installed nearly $17,000 in stage lighting at The Comedy Bar’s new location and lent Lane money.
The lawsuit claims Lane still refuses to pay Belushi or Bessie Blu for the loan, lighting or promotional services.
The three-count suit alleges Lane breached a contract and unjustly benefited from Belushi’s services, and it seeks more than $50,000 in damages.
In the first lawsuit, filed in Cook County Circuit Court on Thursday, Belushi claimed The Comedy Bar’s general manager, Sahar Chavoshi, defamed him by saying he “engaged in fraud and lied and manipulated comics,” according to court documents.
The defamation suit alleges Chavoshi “embarked on a public campaign to malign the reputation of (Belushi and Bessie Blu) and interfere with (their) relations with comics, vendors, business associates and other third parties in Chicago and around the country” after negotiations over the trademark “Belushi’s Comedy Bar” broke down in January.
Belushi is seeking more than $50,000 in damages in the suit.
An acting manager at The Comedy Bar said no one was available to comment on the lawsuits Friday evening.