West Palm Beach, Fla._ When the newly-dubbed International Business School receives a gift later this month from Legal Sea Foods Chief Executive Roger Berkowitz, it might just be the fishiest wad of cash ever given to the University. Fishy not because of Legal's repute for seafood, but for the stink Berkowitz made in South Florida this summer.

The pong first arose from Legal's location in downtown West Palm Beach. In May, Berkowitz fussed to the Boston Globe how his upscale restaurant, situated in a posh outdoor shopping area called CityPlace, was being overrun by teenagers frequenting the movie theater across from Legal.

Berkowitz argued that the teens, many of whom came from West Palm's not-so-posh inner city, were ruining his business. Revenue was down 15 percent. Cheaper restaurants like Cheeburger Cheeburger were slotted to move in. And he wanted to organize with other tenants in CityPlace to do something about the problem.

Enter Ken Himmel, CityPlace top gun who has some serious real estate in the Boston area - namely the exclusive Grill 23 restaurant and Copely Place. Himmel said that Legal was lagging behind its CityPlace neighbors; 11 other restaurants in the complex were showing increased revenue, he said. He told Globe columnist Steve Bailey that the Legal in West Palm "does not compare favorably" with its Boston restaurants "in terms of consistency of the quality of the food, the service or cleanliness."

Berkowitz's touch had two prongs: He called Himmel "a bully" and then sued him for defamation. And shortly after he filed suit on June 30 in the U.S. District Court in West Palm, Berkowitz said he'd give most the money to Brandeis' business school - to perhaps instill in future businesspeople the scruples he said he thought Himmel lacked.

Berkowitz and Himmel were able to bury the hatchet outside of court,

At press time, the details of the settlement have not been disclosed, but Vice President of Development Myles Weisenberg '78 said a $20,000 gift from Berkowitz is a fair "guesstimate."

"This is definitely a first," said Weisenberg, who couldn't recall any other time when money from a settlement was gifted to the University.

Still, Weisenberg said he wasn't surprised about Berkowitz's choice to give the money to Brandeis.

But Brandeis might not get as many clams as Berkowitz had once hoped. An opinion piece by Jac Wilder VerSteeg which ran in the July 8 issue of The Palm Beach Post criticized Berkowitz for giving money to Brandeis rather than donating cash to some schools in Florida - the battleground for this war of words.

"He filed his federal lawsuit in West Palm Beach and was moved to seek legal redress in defense of his West Palm Beach store. So what does he intend to do if he wins a substantial judgment? Mr. Berkowitz says he'll give most of it to Brandeis University," the Versteeg's column read. "That sticks in my craw like stray bone."

According to a spokesperson for Berkowitz, the exclusion of Florida schools wasn't meant to be "a slight in any way." As a result of the article, Berkowitz chose to donate money from the settlement to two Florida universities. It made sense, though, that Berkowitz named Brandeis as his first choice for where to donate the settlement cash.

Weisenberg said he has a long standing relationship with the school. In fact, Berkowitz at one time owned University President Jehuda Reinharz 's home in Newton. He also sits on the board of the International Business School.

According John Hose, Executive Assistant to the President, Reinharz is aware of Berkowitz's intentions.

"The only things we know about this, we read in the press," Hose said.

A statement detailing the settlement between Himmel and Berkowitz should be released by their attorneys by the end of the week, according to Berkowitz's spokesperson.