Damian Bohager of Bohager's Bar & Grill Inc. is being threatened with involuntary bankruptcy by two of his brothers.

The dispute dates to the 1992 death of Bernard C. Bohager Sr., who owned the Fells Point property at 515 S. Eden St. The building was put into a trust with equal ownership among his six children. Two of the children, Robert and Bernard Bohager Jr., were named trustees and now control the property. That same year, their younger brother, Damian Bohager, and several partners opened the bar and grill, paying rent to the trust.

The older brothers filed a petition last Friday seeking Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which would require the bar to be liquidated. The two brothers claim the bar's owners owe more than $100,000 in unpaid rent and "other charges."

Two other creditors joined the petition, saying Bohager's owes them more than $13,300 combined.

Damian Bohager, 46, said yesterday that his brothers simply want control of the bar and that he will fight the petition.

"What this is about more than anything is a hostile takeover bid by a landlord to come in and take Bohager's," he said. "The bar is not insolvent. We're a successful, popular place."

He said the two sides have been in a dispute since October over the amount of rent that is due. Damian Bohager has requested a jury trial in Baltimore Circuit Court, and his rent payments now go to an escrow account.

Bernard Bohager, 51, and his lawyer, Stephen F. Fruin, declined to comment. Robert Bohager, 49, could not be reached.

Damian Bohager has 30 days in which to respond to the bankruptcy petition.

He and another brother, Darryl Bohager, filed suit in November to have the two older brothers removed as trustees.

In 1995, Damian Bohager and his partners filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to protect themselves from creditors. They emerged from bankruptcy in July 1997, he said.

Pub Date: 12/11/98