A Devils Lake restaurant has a temporary restraining order against former state senator and tax commissioner candidate Mike Every in a dispute over pay bonuses.

Every says he did nothing wrong and would like to settle the matter in small claims court.

Scott and Janet Otis, who own the Devils Lake franchise rights to The Pizza Ranch, say in court documents that Every threatened them and tried to blackmail them, going so far as to tell them last March, "You are not bullet proof."

"It's a figure of speech. His (Scott Otis') attorney spun it like I was going to do bodily harm to him," Every said. "I'm not a violent person."

Every was general manager of the restaurant from September 2006 to the end of last year, when he quit to pursue a teaching job. Court documents filed by attorneys for the Otises and the restaurant say Every was an "inferior" manager, and that he demanded payment for bonuses he was not entitled to.

The Otises and the restaurant also allege that Every earlier this month disclosed some of the business's private financial information in a mass e-mail to Pizza Ranch owners and workers "in an attempt to harass, embarrass, annoy and alarm" the Otises and the Devils Lake restaurant.

Every said he has never threatened anyone, but simply asked for the $5,000 he is owed in performance bonuses after overseeing 15 straight months of sales increases at the restaurant. He said the "bullet proof" statement was not meant to be taken literally.

Every also said he never blackmailed anyone. He said that he was blocked by the Otises' attorney from getting the matter settled in small claims court, so he notified Pizza Ranch officials in the mass e-mail about what he believes to be Scott Otis' financial mismanagement at the restaurant.

"I want what he owes me," Every said. "He promised me the money. I did everything he asked me to. If he's so sure he doesn't owe me the money, let's go to (small claims) court and settle it."

The Otises say in court documents that Every sued the wrong corporate official, causing the case to be dismissed, and then instead of correcting the error "chose to threaten and blackmail."

Every says he did not attempt to correct the error because the plaintiffs moved the case to state district court. Now, he says, "why would I want to spend $5,000 (on an attorney) to make $5,000?"

Northeast District Judge Richard Geiger has set a Monday hearing to determine if the temporary restraining order he granted June 17 should be made permanent. Every said he does not plan to attend.

"I could care less if I ever go in his restaurant again, but I want my money," he said.

Every was elected to the North Dakota Senate in 2000 and was the Senate's Democratic assistant minority leader in the 2003 and 2005 sessions of the Legislature. He was the Democratic candidate for state tax commissioner in 2004.

Every decided in 2006 not to run for re-election to the Legislature, citing his new job and family obligations.

He stopped campaigning for tax commissioner after disclosures that he had been late in making child support payments from his first marriage, and he lost to incumbent Republican Rick Clayburgh.

In April 2007, Every pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges in connection with his use of two city pickups while he was mayor of Minnewaukan. The plea agreement with prosecutors called for him to serve no prison time and to have the charges of theft and fraudulent application for certificate of title cleared from his record if he stayed out of trouble for a year. Every also was ordered to pay $575 in fines and fees.

Every, who resigned as mayor in 2005 amid charges about the pickups, said he never intended to deceive anyone and committed a procedural error for which he was sorry.