Jim’s Steaks Delco and Jim’s West Philly Court Battle Reignites

West Philadelphia cheesesteak shop Jim’s West, which is engaged in a court battle with Jim’s Steaks in Delco

Over the summer, I dutifully documented the hard-fought battle between Jim’s Steaks in Delco and Jim’s West. The latter is the new West Philly cheesesteak shop at the address of what was the region’s original Jim’s Steaks. It’s been a while since I checked in. And it turns out that Jim’s Steaks in Delco is not going quietly after losing in court to Jim’s West back in September.

I’m going to need to recap things for you, as briefly and straightforwardly as I can.

Jim’s West opened in the original Jim’s Steaks location on 62nd Street over Labor Day weekend last year. The original location dated back to 1939 and closed in 2019. “We’ve got the old cooks,” Jim’s West owner Cortez Johnson told me in August. “And we are going to preserve the legacy of the original Jim’s Steaks as well as create a new one. I grew up here. I ate these steaks all the time. And I’m going to bring all of that action back to the neighborhood. We are ready to go. It’s going to be a beautiful thing.”

Cortez Johnson, owner of Jim’s West cheesesteak shop in Philadelphia

But there was one person who didn’t think it such a beautiful thing: Carl Proetto. He’s the owner of the Jim’s Steaks in Delco. Proetto is the son of the late Bill Proetto, who owned Jim’s Steaks in West Philly for decades. (Note: None of this controversy has anything to do with the South Street Jim’s Steaks.)

Proetto cried foul. He filed an emergency motion that asked a judge to stop Johnson from using the name “Jim’s” in any way. He pointed out that in the deed executed when Johnson’s LLC purchased the property from Proetto and his brothers, there’s a clause that clearly says that no one can use “Jim’s” at that address… for eternity. I obtained a copy of the deed from City Hall, and, indeed, that’s what it says. This seemed like a pretty open-and-shut case.

On September 11th, Proetto showed up in court with two relatives and an attorney. Johnson arrived alone, unrepresented. During that hearing, a second document came to light. It was a separate legal agreement between the Brothers Proetto and the Jim’s West LLC.

That document, which Johnson signed, has a similar clause but with one big difference. Instead of banning the use of the word “Jim’s,” that agreement banned the use of “Jim’s Steaks.” And, as Johnson rightly pointed out to the judge, he didn’t call the place “Jim’s Steaks.” It’s “Jim’s West.” Johnson also told the judge that he never once saw the deed. It was signed by a partner in the LLC. (That partner wasn’t at the hearing. And if you’re wondering how trademark law might figure into all this, there is no registered trademark for Jim’s Steaks.)

The Delco Jim’s Steaks in Springfield, which is going after Jim’s West in court (image via Google Maps)

In order for the judge to grant the emergency request filed by Jim’s Steaks, Proetto had to show that Jim’s West had caused “irreparable harm” to Jim’s Steaks. And at the end of that two-hour hearing in September, the judge decided that Proetto hadn’t shown that. The judge also showed considerable concern over the difference in language between the two documents. He ruled against the injunction, which doesn’t mean that he said Johnson had a legal right to use the name permanently. Proetto just didn’t prove what he needed to prove to the judge on that day to obtain an emergency injunction.

As Johnson walked out of City Hall’s Courtroom 446 that late summer day, one victory in hand, it was unclear what was going to happen next.

Well, one thing that has happened is that the cheesesteak business has boomed at Jim’s West. I drive by it a fair amount; the lines are prohibitive. The Jim’s West Instagram page has 15,000 followers. (Not that social media comparisons mean everything, but the Jim’s Steaks in Delco has a measly 2,481 followers and hasn’t even posted anything since October.) Not too shabby for a four-month-old cheesesteak takeout operation on what was previously a lonely block.

But the other thing that has happened is that Jim’s Steaks in Delco has made it clear that they’re not backing down. Proetto has decided to plod ahead and spend the money and time to take this to trial. He filed a lawsuit accusing Johnson of breach of contract and unjustly capitalizing off of the Jim’s name, among other things. And remember: The judge’s decision in September was just about the one motion that Proetto had filed. This is now a full-blown lawsuit, though it makes many of the same arguments. Proetto is seeking punitive damages. Jim’s West is fighting back.

Johnson, through his attorney (he smartly has one now), tried to get Proetto’s complaint tossed, using some of the same arguments he made at the September hearing. The judge declined the Jim’s West request to throw out the case, making way for a jury to decide the dispute. (The court record doesn’t reflect the judge’s reasoning.)

Johnson’s attorney then filed more paperwork in court in December which adds some new wrinkles to the situation. Johnson now argues that the agreement of sale was between the Jim’s West LLC and Proetto and his two brothers, so Proetto himself has no standing to file this lawsuit individually. He also says that he’s now using the name Jim’s Steaks West because, he now claims, the agreement only bars him from calling it “Jim’s” or “Jim’s Steaks” — not specifically from calling it “Jim’s Steaks West.” Confused? Me too. I kind of feel bad for the jury.

Johnson also alleges that the two other Proetto brothers who were part of the agreement don’t “have any qualms with [Johnson] using Jim’s Steaks West and do not concur with their brother.” He goes on to say that the relevant language in the deed — again, a deed he said he never saw until it was produced in court in September — is so “incredibly poorly crafted” that the clause is “unenforceable.”

But that’s not all. Johnson has also filed a counterclaim against Proetto, claiming that Proetto has defamed and slandered him by allegedly lying about the nature of their agreement and about Johnson’s use of the Jim’s West name. He’s seeking unspecified damages in excess of $50,000.

This big old mess looks like it won’t be resolved until at least September, when it’s currently scheduled to go to trial.

The attorney representing Jim’s Steaks in Delco did not respond to requests for comment. Alex Palmer, the Center City attorney hired by Johnson, had this to say: “This attempt to shut-down a neighborhood cheesesteak institution is a sham. It is my hope that this case can be resolved in a way that preserves the history of Jim’s cheesesteaks in West Philly.”