Dallas

BBQ Wars: Lockhart Smokehouse Files Lawsuits Against Former Pitmaster, His Family

The owners say Tim McLaughlin of Crossbuck BBQ tried to destroy their business by opening a competing restaurant and interfering with their employees and vendors

Elías Valverde II, The Dallas Morning News

A new legal clash has unraveled in the Texas barbecue sphere, this time involving well-known Dallas restaurant Lockhart Smokehouse and newcomer Crossbuck BBQ in Farmers Branch.

The owners of Lockhart Smokehouse, Jill and Jeff Bergus, recently filed a series of lawsuits against Tim McLaughlin, Lockhart’s minority owner and former pitmaster, and his family.

McLaughlin, who opened Crossbuck BBQ in 2022 after running Lockhart’s kitchen for nearly a decade and being terminated in 2020, is being sued for damages and is accused of having “created a strategy to try and destroy” the Lockhart business, according to the filings.

Three lawsuits filed in Collin County’s civil court in April 2023 on behalf of Lockhart Smokehouse against McLaughlin, his wife, Beth McLaughlin, and his mother-in-law, Janet Forst — who is an investor in Lockhart — allege breaches of fiduciary duty, tortious interference and defamation. In other words, they’re accused of going against their contractual duties to Lockhart and trying to economically harm the business.

Click here to read more on this report from our partners at The Dallas Morning News.

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