The battle for Lefty O’Doul’s turning into a bar brawl

A Superior Court Judge on Friday barred the operator of Lefty O’Doul’s in Union Square from removing any additional pieces of memorabilia, the latest development in the escalating fight between landlord and longtime tenant over who has the right to the name and décor of the baseball-themed restaurant and cocktail lounge.

With the current Lefty O’Doul’s lease up and the restaurant scheduled to shut its doors on Feb. 3, the brawl over who owns the landmark Geary Street hofbrau — and its 400 pieces of baseball memorabilia — has officially moved from the barroom to the courtroom.

In California Superior Court Friday, Handlery sought — and received — a temporary restraining order barring Bovis from removing any more fixtures, furniture or memorabilia, although Bovis has already taken down and stored most of the decor.

Handlrey Hotels, which owns the building at 333 Geary St. that has housed Lefty O’Doul’s since it opened in 1958, claims it has been the “sole and exclusive” owner of Lefty O’Doul’s — and all of its memorabilia and fixtures — since 1997, when a lease termination was signed with a former tenant, Don Figone.

“At no point prior to Jan. 12, 2017 did anyone from (Handlery Hotels) indicate or suggest that they owned plaintiffs’ intellectual property, including Lefty O’Doul’s mark, in connection with a restaurant and bar displaying sports memorabilia,” wrote the Bovis lawyers.

Tom O’Doul, a cousin of baseball legend Lefty O’Doul, said he supports Bovis who he said has done an excellent job of keeping the philanthropic traditions O’Doul started, mostly around kids and baseball.