FAIRHOPE, Ala. — The pizza shop where a six-hour standoff with police last fall resulted in the arrest of the business owner has been sued by another Fairhope company, claiming the incident prevented a scheduled event at the nearby Fairhope Civic Center and caused loss of income to the plaintiff.

“We just filed it this morning,” said Fairhope attorney Adam Milam on Thursday, regarding the lawsuit brought by Creative Outlet Dance Center LLC against Ravenite LLC. “We tried to get the matter resolved without filing suit, but the owner would not accept the registered letters we sent to him.”

On Nov. 24, 2009, Richard “Rich” Cary Gambino, an agent and co-owner of the company doing business as Ravenite Pizzaria, barricaded himself in that pizza shop located across Section Street from the police station and Civic Center, according to the March 18 complaint filed in county district court. That was the same day Creative Outlet’s Children’s Dance Theater was scheduled for a 9 a.m. performance of “Jack and the Beanstalk” at which more that 700 students were expected to attend, according to the complaint.

“Fairhope police were alerted of the situation at around 4 a.m. and a six-hour standoff ensued,” the lawsuit states. “Mr. Gambino informed the police that he was armed, (and) that he planned to blow up the restaurant using natural gas from the pizza ovens.”

The complaint also states that to protect the public, police blocked off Section Street between Oak and Magnolia avenues, and the barricade prevented access to the Civic Center that morning, resulting in the cancellation of the children’s play that day.

“The cancellation of the morning performance caused by Mr. Gambino’s actions resulted in a loss of several thousand dollars to the Creative Outlet Dance Center,” the lawsuit contends.

Milam said the cancellation of the event cost the dance center approximately $2,500 in revenue and related expenses.

The plaintiff claims the defendant company committed negligence, wantonness and tortious interference with a contractual or business relationship and seeks “compensatory damages, including lost revenue and reimbursement for hours spent in preparation for the performance, plus interest from the date of the breach and reasonable attorney’s fees and costs not in excess of $10,000,” which is the jurisdictional limit of county district court.

After the standoff, law enforcement officers smashed in the front door and windows and arrested Gambino, who was charged with a felony count of making terrorist threats. Gambino is a member of a well-known family of restaurant owners. He opened Ravenite Pizzaria in 2002 with his wife, Gina, who is also listed as an owner of the company, according to state records.

A manager at the pizza shop said Monday night that no representative of Ravenite Pizzaria would comment at this time about the pending lawsuit.