Grantville Business Facing a Civil Racketeering Lawsuit

Grantville resident Robert Royce filed a lawsuit against Charles “Red” Phillips for libel per se on November 1^st, 2024. This includes legal allegations against the local restaurant Red’s Grub Shack, nothing has been proven in a court of law yet.

Mr. Royce posts comments critical about the Grantville government, which is protected by the First Amendment. There have been exchanges in the comments section(s) on a Facebook page between Mr. Royce and Mr. Phillips. Complaint shows that Mr. Phillips commented about Mr. Royce being arrested for harassment to law enforcement.

Georgia Transparency (GT) spoke with Mr. Royce, and he stated that he has never been arrested at any point in his lifetime.

The lawsuit also alleges RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) against Mr. Phillips about previous legal documents filed with the city of Grantville. The suit mentions possible litigants as Doe 1, Doe 2, and Doe 3. After reading the suit in its entirety, one could believe that the Doe’s listed could be Grantville City Hall employees.

Complaint alleges Mr. Phillips submitted an on-premises city beer & wine alcohol beverage license application and notarized by Grantville employee Tabatha Medders. Complaint also alleges that Mr. Phillips omitted to answer the question on the application about any or all the arrest he had sustained. In the complaint it alleges two instances of false swearing by Mr. Phillips on a government document and one allegation of threatening a witness. 

According to court records Mr. Phillips has been convicted of a felony.

Complaint alleges Mr. Phillips did not collect the state required license renewal late-fee of one-half the amount required for the license.   

Mr. Royce is seeking $25,000.00 in punitive damages plus court costs. This includes a request for a court order for the dissolution of the enterprise Red’s Grub Shack.