Florida judge rules waitress can sue Hooters in toy Yoda case

http://www.nj.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/cgi-free/getstory_ssf.cgi?a0404_BC_BRF--ToyYoda&&news&newsflash-national ^ | 10/13/01 | AP

[World'sGoneInsane]

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (AP) -- A judge ruled Friday that a former waitress can sue Hooters over allegations the restaurant promised her a new Toyota for winning a beer sales contest then gave her a toy Yoda Star Wars doll. Jodee Berry, 26, won the contest in May and believed she'd drive away in a new car. She was blindfolded, led to the restaurant parking lot and found herself in front of a toy Yoda.

[World'sGoneInsane]

In case any of you were waiting up to hear the status of this case. Just a few short months ago, this story was big news.

[Professional]

I hope she wins. Slimy attempt at humor, for the owners own financial benefit. What a scum.

[jlogajan]

Stupid PR. Don't these yahoos ever learn? Settle and settle quick.

[CurlyBill]

Not good...hope she wins.

[RJayneJ]

Quote of the Day by clintonh8r

[Soul Citizen]

It will go all the way so they can get all the free national press coverage worth millions all for the cost of a single toy.

[dandelion]

YES. Anybody who's ever worked cocktail knows what you have to go through to work the floor - and how much money the restaurants make from alcohol sales. The kicker is the fact that they let her THINK it was a car, and went so far as to blindfold her and take her into the parking lot... and for what? To laugh at her disappointment when her prize turned out to be a three-dollar toy?

[Paradox]

More power to her. This guy obviously decieved her.

[Amore]

Oh, good grief! Where am I? No one else here thinks this is a ridiculous suit which should be dismissed outright?

[DSH]

Oh, good grief! Where am I? No one else here thinks this is a ridiculous suit which should be dismissed outright?

So far, apparently not. And the judge didn't agree with you, either.

Based on the facts as described in this article, legally, this is pretty much a no-brainer. The waitress's case is strong.

[cactmh]

I hope she takes them to the cleaners...

[connectthedots]

Company lawyers filed a motion to dismiss saying employees agree when hired to try to settle disputes through mediation or arbitration before suing.

From one who knows; if there is a standard arbitration clause in the contract, she had better just go to arbitration now. The only real way around an arbitration clause is if it was signed as a result of a fraudulent misrepresentation and the arbitration provisions blatantly favor the company, which may just be the case in this situation. Her attorney obviously wants a jury, especially in Florida where jury verdicts can be huge. If Hooters was smart, they'd just give her the car, because she is going to win in either the arbitration or in front of a jury. If she gets to a jury, Hooters is going to get slammed big time. "A poor waitress against a large sexist restaurant that makes it's waitresses where suggestive clothing?" If I was on the jury and she showed up for trial wearing her Hooters uniform, Hooters might as well sign over the restaurant to her.

[Shermy]

Methinks that they humiliated her when presented the toy. Thought a bimbo's reaction would be funny to the crowd. People don't like these kind of tricks. I'd bet the Hooters owners won't appear to a jury as victims or upstanding members of the community. If they had any brains, they would give her the car with a big P.R. presence about how they care--with lots of Hooter's ladies in the background to bring in more customers, men. But they won't. If they had that kind of mentality, they wouldn't have done the stupid stunt in the first place.

[BJungNan]

Oh, good grief! Where am I? No one else here thinks this is a ridiculous suit which should be dismissed outright?

Absolutely it should not be dismissed. This women should have been given the car she worked to win. Now, she should get the car and whatever compensation her lawyer can obtain for her.

This was a stupid prank. That the restaurant has not yet recognized its error and offered up a settlement is all the more reason it needs to be taught a lesson.

I hope she wins!

[World'sGoneInsane]

I agree, this is a really stupid move by the owners of Hooters. It doesn't help their image, and they probably would have saved money buying her a car. If the publicity helps anyone, it will be the waitress. If she has another waitressing job, she's probably made pretty good tips just telling her story. People usually don't like seeing waitresses getting scrooged. They work hard for their money.

[badfreeper]

"It will go all the way so they can get all the free national press coverage worth millions all for the cost of a single toy."

I wouldn't be surprised if when Star Wars: Episode 2 comes out, LucasFilm joins the fray and sues Hooter's for copyright infringement to get their props...

BF

[Amore]

So you think the fact a single trial judge disagrees with me makes me wrong? How familiar are you with the Florida legal system? Because I am part of Florida's appellate judicial system, and I still think the suit is ridiculous. And I don't recommend basing legal decisions on newspaper articles. Newspapers don't report the facts of lawsuits any more accurately than they report anything else.

[Professional]

They tricked her, and her co workers. They said the prize for most beer sales was a Toyota (toy yoda) car. A toy yoda is NOT a "car". She worked under intentional false pretenses. When she won, they duped her. Hope she wins.

If the boss tells you, you'll get a 8 dollar raise if you break a sales record, and then give you 8 doll hairs, are you going to laugh? Didn't think so.

[HiTech RedNeck]

Why haven't these JERKS gone out of business yet? Why aren't America's screaming liberal feminists picketing this place day and night? (Or for that matter, outfits like Playboy?)

[monkeyshine]

Cheaper than a lawyer: