,,, the cage cleaner is awaiting the outcome of the case before she sees her big ticket lawyer.
Posted on 02/18/2005 5:01:51 PM PST by ambrose
Lawsuit Claims Bizarre Ritual With Koko The Gorilla
POSTED: 10:51 am PST February 18, 2005 UPDATED: 1:19 pm PST February 18, 2005
SAN MATEO -- A legal battle has erupted at the San Mateo home of Koko, the sign-language talking ape, where two former employees of the gorilla's caretaker -- the Gorilla Foundation -- claim in a $1 million lawsuit that they were ordered to expose their breasts to the 33-year-old female simian in attempt to bond with her.
Nancy Alperin and Kendra Keller, both of San Francisco, filed a lawsuit earlier this week in San Mateo County Superior Court claiming wrongful termination because they failed to obey the order. The pair had previously filed a claim for the same reason with California Department of Fair Employment and Housing.
The two women were fired Aug. 6, 2004. In the suit, Alperin, 47, is seeking $719,830 in damages while Keller, 48, is asking for $366,192.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the suit includes numerous claims against Foundation president Francine Patterson.
"On at least two incidents in mid-to-late June 2004, Patterson intensely pressured Keller to expose herself to Koko while they were working outside where other employees could potentially view Keller's naked body," the paper quoted from the suit.
Todd Roberts, a partner in the Redwood City office of Ropers Majeski Kohn Bentley, which is representing the Gorilla Foundation, told the paper his firm was still reviewing the suit.
"But I can tell you that based on our review of the factual allegations and characterizations in the complaint, we deny those allegations," Roberts said.
Patterson has not issued a statement about the suit.
The Gorilla Foundation, which has existed since 1976 to promote the preservation and protection of gorillas, is best known for Koko, who was born at the San Francisco Zoo on July 4, 1971.
Since her early years, linguists have trained Koko to use sign language. The foundation claims she has a vocabulary of more than 1,000 words in American Sign Language, but many scientists dispute that claim.
You just can't make stuff like this up
,,, the cage cleaner is awaiting the outcome of the case before she sees her big ticket lawyer.
Big ticket indeed! ;);)
Ground draggin' bumpski! ;);)
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