PITTSBURGH – A former server at a Monroeville restaurant has hit back at her former place of business, charging their defamation case against her has no basis to include counts for both punitive damages and tortious interference.
Gateway Grill, Inc., Kevin E. McFadden and Michael Barrett of Monroeville initially filed suit in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas on June 19 versus Brittney M. Davenport, of Plum Borough.
The Gateway Grill has been open since 2000 and employs about 60 people. For parts of about six years, Gateway employed Davenport as a dine-in table server, and she was paid the cash minimum wage ($2.83 per hour) plus customer tips.
On March 19, Gov. Tom Wolf issued an order requiring all non-life sustaining businesses in the Commonwealth to cease operations and close all physical locations. Under the governor’s orders, all restaurants and bars were ordered to close their dine-in facilities and the Gateway Grill was limited to only carry-out, curbside pick-up and delivery.
That closure of dine-in facilities was only recently partially lifted when Allegheny County was transitioned to the “Green” phase on June 5.
“As a result of the COVID-19 orders and the loss of customers caused by the mandatory closure of the restaurant’s dine-in operations and to assist its employees, the Gateway Grill raised all the table servers’ pay (including Davenport) to the standard minimum wage of $7.25 per hour plus a share of tips for carry-out, curbside pick-up and delivery services,” the suit stated.
“On or around May 21, 2020, it was brought to the Gateway Grill’s attention that, due to a clerical error through its payroll predecessor, Automatic Data Processing, Inc., paychecks issued to certain servers reflected the pre-COVID-19 $2.83 per hour cash minimum wage as opposed to the newly-implemented $7.25 standard minimum wage. The Gateway Grill and ADP immediately corrected the error and issued new paychecks to the affected employees.”
The suit said Davenport then embarked upon a weeks-long social media campaign of defamation against the plaintiffs, making a series of posts on different Facebook pages charging them with engaging in corrupt business practices, committing tax fraud, committing tip misappropriation, were underpaying employees, refused to issue corrected paychecks to employees and engaging in unsafe procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic. The suit said the defendant also painted these false statements on the windows of her vehicle.
Upon learning of this, the Gateway Grill terminated Davenport’s employment on May 22. Four days later, Davenport, her husband and a male acquaintance named “Jason” appeared at the restaurant to confront and threaten plaintiffs McFadden and Barrett, which resulted in a Gateway Grill employee calling the Monroeville Police Department, the suit said.
UPDATE
Representation for Davenport filed preliminary objections in the matter on July 19, counter-claiming that the plaintiffs have violated Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure with respect to pleading and basis for some of its counts.
“The claims of all three have been lumped together under Count II. There is no Count I. This pleading violates the express requirements of Pa.R.C.P. 1020(a). Plaintiffs repeatedly request damages ‘in excess of the jurisdictional limits of this Court...’ This demand violates the express requirements of Pa.R.C.P. 1021(c),” said Davenport’s preliminary objections, in part.
“This complaint repeatedly request punitive damages without any adequate basis for the same. In Count III, the corporate plaintiff claims tortious interference with an existing and prospective contractual and business relationship. This count provides no description of any such contract or business relationship.”
Counsel for the defendant requested the complaint be dismissed as filed.
For counts of defamation and tortious interference with existing and prospective contractual and business relationships, the plaintiff is seeking damages in excess of the jurisdictional limits of the Court, punitive damages, injunctive relief, interest, costs and all such additional relief that the Court deems necessary and proper.
The plaintiffs are represented by Ryan James of Galanter Tomosovich, in Pittsburgh.
The defendant is represented by Gary Kalmeyer of Kalmeyer & Kalmeyer, also in Pittsburgh.
Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas case GD-20-006981
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com