By Mike Hughlett | A DuPage County judge this week ordered Frank Portillo Jr. to personally pay $882,000 to settle a dispute with the minority owner of Portillo’s Brown’s Chicken & Pasta restaurant chain.

In October, DuPage County Circuit Court Judge Kenneth Popejoy ordered Brown’s to pay $882,000 to Thomas Kennefick, who owns 35 percent of the company and who sued after he said he was terminated in 2007. The $882,000 payment is for the value of Kennefick’s shares.

With an initial $294,000 due in December, Brown’s claimed it couldn’t pay the judgment and filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which allows a company to continue operating while reorganizing its finances. In Chapter 11, payments of legal judgments are temporarily frozen.

So, Kennefick pursued payment of the $882,000 directly from Portillo and on Wednesday Popejoy ordered Portillo to purchase Kennefick’s shares.  Toni Portillo, Brown’s president, said her father plans to appeal Popejoy’s ruling.

Elmhurst-based Brown’s has 39 area restaurants, all but three of which are owned by franchisees. They remain open for business.