Foreclosure lawsuit filed against owner of Great Outdoors Restaurant dismissed
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A foreclosure lawsuit against the owner of two High Springs restaurants has been dropped, according to Alachua County court records.
The records show that a Notice of Voluntary Dismissal Without Prejudice was filed Dec. 4 by Jacksonville-based The Liles Firm on behalf of Community State Bank in its case against Dae Jung Kim, owner of the Great Outdoors Restaurant and the Pink Flamingo Diner.
"We are excited to be able to continue serving the community," said Anthony Paparella, director of operations for HiLife Projects, which represents the restaurants. "Mr. Kim continues to employ over 100 people in the Gainesvillle/Alachua/High Springs area and we're very grateful for the opportunities that he's given us. They have allowed us to keep on going when other restaurants may not have been able to because he has the resources that he's always willing to expend in order to make the restaurant successful."
The lawsuit, filed in September, had accused Kim and various LLCs to which he is named president, of defaulting on a $2 million loan.
Community State Bank alleged that Kim, Radiant Life Ecoville LLC, High Springs Ecoville LLC and Springs LLC defaulted under the terms of the Commercial Promissory Note for an investment line of credit signed by Kim on March 19, 2021.
According to the original lawsuit, as of July 5, Community State Bank was owed almost $2.1 million, which included the loan amount, late fees, attorneys fees and other costs.
A document filed with the Alachua County Clerk of Court by The Liles Firm showed that only about $1,000 had been paid against the loan's principal amount since its signing in 2021.
When asked why the case had been dismissed, Ryan J. Mittauer, an attorney with The Liles Law Firm, would only say that "The lien was satisfied in full."
Court records show Kim is still dealing with another foreclosure lawsuit pending against him related to a Gainesville property he purchased in March 2021 for just over $1 million
He is accused in that complaint, filed on Nov. 7, of failure to make payments on a seller-backed $500,000 balloon mortgage for two adjacent parcels of land located at 606 NW 75th St. Also named in the suit is Healthy Cosmo Inc., of which Kim is listed as president.
The property — the former home of longtime local Italian favorite Napolatano's Restaurant — is currently listed on various real estate sites for $1.8 million.