The owner of the Three Legged Monkey, a restaurant and bar, said that El Paso Mayor John Cook defamed his business publicly.

Mike Armstrong said he’s suing because now his business and reputation have been damaged.

Problems between the business and the community that surrounds it started several years ago. People who live near the Monkey have complained that its patrons would litter, make noise and even get violent near their homes.

Armstrong said that those neighbors recruited city officials to try and shut his business down. Armstrong has already filed a suit against several of the neighbors for saying things publicly that he claims are not true.

Now Armstrong is suing Cook over a statement he made on television in March 2011.

Cook said this about the Monkey and the plaza it’s in: “It's been an area that I don't think most people would consider being a first-class shopping center."

Armstrong claims that Cook went on to say that police repeatedly arrested patrons of the Monkey for underage drinking.

"He's (Cook) a gentleman with a great deal of influence, and the statements that he made, which will be proven untrue in court, have caused the business and my personal business dealings to falter," Armstrong said.

Armstrong said he’s spent too much money on lawyers defending his business. He also said that he tried to open a new business but his financiers backed out because of the city’s efforts to shut the Monkey down.

Armstrong said he’s suing for millions.

"I think this will also serve as notice to highly influential people,” Armstrong said. “If you don’t have facts to back up a statement and you're willing to say those things in a public forum, this can happen."

Cook was not available for comment.

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