The Abbey Food & Bar in West Hollywood claims to be “Elizabeth Taylor’s favorite pub,” so it should come as no surprise that the thriving gay bar boasts a one-of-a-kind painting of the late actress.

On a recent evening at the Abbey, a small group of bargoers sat around the portrait, now shielded by a glass case above a gold plaque that says “donated by Dame Elizabeth Taylor.”

The painting, and the claim that Taylor donated it to the Abbey, is now at the center of a heated dispute between L.A.’s SBE Entertainment Group, the bar’s owner, and a former employee.

Jesse Davis, a former special manager at the bar, claims Taylor gave him the painting as a gift in 2009 and now he wants it back.

“It’s one of those things,” Davis said. “If you were given a gift – it doesn’t matter if it was from Elizabeth Taylor, your uncle or your cousin – you would want it back.”

Ever since he left the Abbey last year to move east, Davis said he has repeatedly asked David Cooley, the bar’s founder, to return the painting, which was appraised last month at $75,000.

But, at least thus far, Davis has had no luck. He claims Cooley wants to keep the painting because it attracts customers.

It’s quite common for businesses to associate themselves with celebrities, said John Heilman, West Hollywood’s mayor pro tempore.

“If somebody gets their dry-cleaning done at a certain dry cleaner and they’re a celebrity, I think the business will want to associate themselves with that celebrity,” Heilman said. “It brings in other people, too, because people want to go where the current celebrity de jour goes.”

But to Davis, the painting represents more than a ploy to lure paying customers. It’s a symbol of a deep friendship he had with the acclaimed actress – something for which he’s willing to fight.

The yearlong battle has escalated, finally reaching Los Angeles Superior Court after Davis filed a complaint against the Abbey and SBE earlier this month.

New friends

While Taylor might have frequented the Abbey more than other celebrities, she was far from the only A-lister to make an appearance at the bar. Earlier this month, for instance, Kim Kardashian co-hosted an event alongside Cooley to commemorate World AIDS Day.

Davis said it was his job to cater to stars, often arranging for extra security and comping drinks. But his friendship with Taylor was different.

Taylor’s personal nurse was a friend of Davis, he said, and she introduced them in early 2008. Almost instantly, the two became close pals, frequently shopping and dining together.

“We had a really fun relationship,” Davis said. “I used to bring new music to her house because she liked to know what was up and coming.”

Eventually, on an August afternoon in 2009, Davis said that he got a request from the actress to stop by her house because she had a gift for him. That’s when he saw the painting for the first time, situated on an easel beside the star’s bed.

“She said, ‘If you like it, throw it in your car,’” Davis said. “She was pretty unpredictable.”

The following month, he decided to hang it inside the Abbey temporarily so other Taylor fans and bargoers could take photos with it and enjoy it.

It was smooth sailing, he said, until the bar hosted a New Year’s Eve party to kick off 2011 and an intoxicated patron tore the portrait off the wall and danced with it.

Luckily, Davis said the painting was unharmed. But to be safe, he took it home with him that night.

Three months later, Taylor died at 79.

To honor her, Davis said Cooley asked him to return the portrait so it could be displayed as part of a memorial at her “favorite pub” and he agreed, reluctantly, according to the court document.

Legal battle

The painting still hangs prominently inside the Abbey today, even though Davis quit his job at the bar in March last year.

While the complaint indicates the only proof of ownership is a handful of e-mails sent by Davis and his former counsel, Davis’ current lawyer, Lonnie McDowell, said they can prove in court that Taylor gave his client the painting.

Brian Rosman, a spokesman for the Abbey, declined to comment.

“It’s probably going to be a he-said, she-said type of situation,” said Sean Andrade, a property rights litigator at downtown L.A. law firm Andrade Gonzalez, who is not involved in this matter but reviewed the case for the Business Journal.

If the dispute was over real property – i.e., a building or land – the Abbey and SBE could try to claim ownership through adverse possession, a policy granting ownership in certain circumstances when a party maintains possession of the property over a required period of time, Andrade said.

“In California, there is no adverse possession of personal property, so that won’t help the Abbey,” he said. “However, as the possessor, there is a special three-year statute of limitations for the taking of personal property that can serve as a defense for the Abbey, if it can establish that the plaintiff knew they took his property back … and he did nothing to reclaim it.”

Meantime, SBE and Cooley have not yet responded to the complaint. The first hearing is set for March.