Wait Staff Wins Suit Over Restaurant Tips
A restaurant may have to pay its wait staff more than $2.5 million after a State Court jury found that the restaurant illegally funneled tips to managers. The jury also found that the restaurant wrongly fired four waitresses who complained about losing a percentage of their tips. The case was the first of 19 “tip cases” to go to trial in that particular state after the state legislature amended the law in 2002 to state that waitresses, waiters and bartenders aren’t legally required to share tips with kitchen staff or managers. The law bars restaurant owners from distributing tip money to other employees, including managers, even if they also serve food and beverages. A lawyer for the restaurant wait staff said in some cases the wait staff received 14% of the 18% gratuity, with the remainder going to managers. read article

Employer Can’t Be Sued For Intentional Spoliation
The estate of an employee killed in an explosion could not sue his employer for intentional spoliation of evidence for discarding the allegedly defective pump that caused the accident, a Court has ruled. The employee worked for an environmental cleanup company. He was assigned to clean a chemical firm’s holding tank. During the process the equipment malfunctioned, an explosion occurred and the employee suffered fatal burns. Three days after the explosion, the state Occupational Safety and Health Administration contacted the company and asked if it still possessed any of the equipment or debris. An OSHA employee asked the owner not to dispose of it, but he later reported that he had thrown it all away. read article

$3.6 Million For Woman Hurt In Roller Coaster Accident
A jury recently found Six Flags Inc. negligent, and awarded $3.6 million to a woman who was hurt while riding a roller coaster at a Six Flags amusement park. The Plaintiff suffered a fractured skull and broken nose when she was hit by something while riding a roller coaster at a Six Flags park. Doctors removed a piece of her skull to relieve pressure on the brain and removed bits of bone from the brain. Testimony at the trial revealed that employees had previously warned park officials that people were throwing rocks at riders. Rocks were on the ground below the roller coaster near a walkway. The jury award includes $1.1 million for medical and other expenses and $2.5 million in punitive damages.

UNLIMITED ACCESS AND UNLIMITED LEGAL AND STRATEGIC BUSINESS ADVICE

Let Spiegel & Utrera, P.A. help you grow your business.
Join Spiegel & Utrera, P.A. General Counsel Club & Registered Agent Service and be entitled to Unlimited Access, Unlimited Legal and Strategic Business Advice, a one year subscription to our Newsletter: Entrepreneur's Alert® plus FREE Advertising on  www.amerilawyer.com and much more! All for less than 40 cents per day.