Yale University produces presidents and Supreme Court justices, but it's no match for a restaurant that produces lobster cassoulette. A judge has ruled that the Ivy League school, which also is New Haven's largest retail landlord, cannot back out of a 2006 agreement that was supposed to resolve a long-running property dispute with the owners of Bespoke restaurant. "It's clearly a David vs. Goliath case," Hugh Keefe, the restaurant's attorney, said Tuesday. "Sometimes David wins, which happened here. I think the judge saw through the hocus-pocus."

A Yale spokesman did not immediately return a call seeking comment Tuesday.

Yale purchased the vacant lot behind Bespoke in 1999 and says it owns an area that includes a walkway and storage shed. At one point, Yale blocked Bespoke's back exit by building a fence along what it says is its property line, inches from the restaurant's door.

The restaurant owners, Arturo and Suzette Franco-Camacho, claim access rights to the area, saying tenants have used the walkway for decades, a practice which by law gives them rights to the area under adverse possession, or squatters rights.

After four years of negotiations, the two sides reached a settlement that gave Bespoke access to the disputed area for at least two years. But Yale wanted to back out, saying the agreement did not acknowledge Yale's ownership of the property and arguing that its own attorney did not have authority to enter into part of the agreement.

New Haven Superior Court Judge Juliett Crawford ruled Friday that Yale failed to prove its attorney lacked authority.

The Franco-Camachos said they've spent more than $2 million buying and renovating the building that houses Bespoke, which serves such dishes as Moroccan spiced shrimp and pomegranate rack of lamb.

The university, which has no immediate plans to develop its property, offered the Franco-Camachos free access to the shed and walkway as long as they acknowledged Yale owned the land, but they refused to do that, Yale spokesman Tom Conroy has said.

"We're simply defending our property rights," Conroy said last year.

The Franco-Camachos said last year that Yale could revoke that offer of access at any time. They say the rear access is important for safety reasons in case of a fire, and that the area can be used for deliveries and garbage.

Yale says the restaurant can operate without the exit.

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On the Net:

Bespoke: http://www.bespokenewhaven.com/

Yale: http://www.yale.edu/