Brooks v. Collis Foods, Inc.
| Decision Date | 31 March 2005 |
| Docket Number | No. 2:03-CV-0155-RWS.,2:03-CV-0155-RWS. |
| Citation | 365 F.Supp.2d 1342 |
| Parties | Felicia BROOKS, Jean Denny, and Stephanie Densey, Plaintiffs, v. COLLIS FOODS, INC., and Waffle House, Inc., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Georgia |
David C. Ates, Alysa Beth-Ann Freeman, Michael P. Elkon, Atlanta, GA, Gerald L. Maatman, Jr., PHV, Sari M. Alamuddin, PHV, Chicago, IL, for Plaintiffs.
Richard Gerakitis, Frederick Cobb Dawkins, Rebecca Lyn Williams, Atlanta, GA, Frederick E. Link, Gainesville, GA, for Defendants.
Now before the Court for consideration are Defendant Waffle House, Inc.'s Motion to Strike Plaintiff's Supplement to their Initial Disclosures [73-1], Defendant Waffle House, Inc.'s Motion for Summary Judgment [79-1], Defendant Collis Foods, Inc.'s Motion for Summary Judgment [91-1], Plaintiffs' Motion for Leave to file Excess Pages [100-1], Consent Motion for Extension of Page Limitation [119-1], Defendant Collis Foods, Inc.'s Motion for Protective Order Regarding Confidentiality Designation [123-1], Plaintiffs' Motion for Leave to File a Surreply to Defendant Waffle House's Reply Brief [124-1], Plaintiffs' Motion to Extension of Time [128-1]. After considering the entire record and the arguments of the parties, the Court enters the following Order.
This case arises out of Plaintiffs' allegations of race discrimination at a Waffle House restaurant in the North Georgia mountains. The Waffle House restaurant system consists of over 1,400 corporate-owned and franchise-owned restaurants throughout the United States. Defendant Collis Foods, Inc. ("Collis Foods") is a Waffle House franchisee that owns and operates 72 restaurants in Georgia, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Arkansas including the Waffle House restaurant located in Blue Ridge, Georgia (hereinafter "Blue Ridge Waffle House"). The primary facts of the case are largely undisputed. Where there are conflicting facts, the Court has construed the facts in favor of Plaintiffs.
Plaintiffs Felecia Brooks, Jean Denny and Stephanie Densey, African-American women, drove from the Atlanta area to Blue Ridge, Georgia for a weekend trip. Plaintiffs and another friend, Jackie Kameri, arrived in Blue Ridge on a Friday evening. The next day, Saturday, October 26, 2002, Plaintiffs left their cabin around 10:00 a.m. Ms. Kameri remained at the cabin. Plaintiffs made a reservation to go white water rafting, stopped at an ATM and then went to the Blue Ridge Waffle House, which they had passed on their way to their cabin the night before. Although Plaintiffs had previously dined at other Waffle House restaurants, Plaintiffs had never been to the Blue Ridge Waffle House. When Plaintiffs arrived at around 11:00 a.m. they noticed that the parking lot was full. Upon entering the restaurant they realized that there was not an empty seat in the entire restaurant and they were going to have to wait for a table to become available. Plaintiffs were the only African-American customers at the restaurant when they arrived and no other African-American customers entered the restaurant while they were there. There were no African-American employees working at the Blue Ridge Waffle House.
Plaintiffs were not greeted when they entered the restaurant even though white customers who subsequently entered the restaurant were greeted as they entered. Ms. Densey spoke to the hostess and requested to sit at a booth and stated that Plaintiffs preferred not to sit near people who were smoking. After Plaintiffs had been waiting for around ten minutes, three seats at the lower counter became available. The hostess asked Plaintiffs if they would like to take the counter seats but Plaintiffs stated that they would rather wait for a booth. The hostess indicated to Plaintiffs that they could have a seat at the counter and then move to booth when one became available.1 Plaintiffs were seated next to a customer who was smoking.
When Plaintiffs sat down, there was no silverware or water glasses on the counter. Plaintiffs waited there for fifteen to twenty minutes. During this time, several booths became available but none of them were offered to Plaintiffs. Instead, white customers who had entered after Plaintiffs were seated in the booths. Toward the end of this time period, a booth directly behind Plaintiffs became available. At this point, no waitress had approached Plaintiffs to greet them, to offer them drinks or silverware or to take their orders. Ms. Densey approached the hostess and requested that they be moved to the available booth. She also requested service. When the hostess approached the waitress who was clearing the table, the waitress stated that she was clearing the table for someone else. White customers were seated in the booth. Subsequently, a waitress began to approach Plaintiffs, but then gestured to another waitress, shook her head and indicated that she did not want to wait on Plaintiffs. Plaintiffs did not hear what she said, but they overhead the second waitress say, "Ok you help them over there and I'll take these guys right here."
Waitress Mary Renee Allen then came to take Plaintiffs' drink orders. Ms. Allen acted as if it were an inconvenience to wait on Plaintiffs. Plaintiffs ordered orange juice, and Ms. Allen returned with the drinks about ten minutes later. Ms. Allen appeared to slam the juice down on the counter and shove it toward Ms. Brooks. Plaintiffs observed that Ms. Allen deliberately spilled the juice some of which ended up on Ms. Brooks' lap. Ms. Allen did not apologize, but wiped the juice up with a dirty dish cloth, mostly smearing the juice around the counter. Plaintiffs cleaned up the remaining juice with napkins. Ms. Allen brought Ms. Brooks another drink and threw straws that Ms. Densey had requested on the counter. At this point, Plaintiffs considered leaving the restaurant, but decided to stay because Ms. Denny feared that she would get a migraine if she did not have breakfast.2
About five to ten minutes after the juice was spilled, another waitress came to take Plaintiffs' food order. The waitresses's demeanor was cold and condescending. Plaintiffs waited another thirty to forty five minutes for their food to arrive. During this time, white customers who came in after Plaintiffs had finished their meals and were leaving the restaurant. Plaintiffs received their food about one hour and ten minutes after entering the restaurant. Ms. Brooks' food was burned and cold. The only portion of her meal she ate was the toast. Ms. Densey's order was incorrect, she ordered the Texas Steak melt without mushrooms but received a patty melt with mushrooms. Ms. Densey only ate part of a pecan waffle she shared with Ms. Denny. Ms. Denny's food was also cold, but she ate most of her omelet, half of a pecan waffle and possibly part of a biscuit.
As the waitress served Plaintiffs their food, she and the other waitresses began to sing. It is undisputed that they sang "Swing Low Sweet Chariot" and "When the Saints Go Marching In." Defendants assert that the employees of the Blue Ridge Waffle House sometimes sang when they were busy to lighten up the atmosphere and relieve stress. Plaintiffs state that as the Waffle House employees sang, the waitresses stared at Plaintiffs as did customers who joined in the singing. Plaintiffs looked for a manager to complain but noticed that all employees were singing. Plaintiffs concluded that they could not complain because the manager either condoned or participated in the conduct. Plaintiffs paid their bill, tipped their waitress and left the restaurant. Ms. Brooks requested a receipt but the cashier refused to give her one. Plaintiffs were in the restaurant for a total of about one hour and fifteen minutes. While they were in the Blue Ridge Waffle House, Plaintiffs did not hear anyone in the restaurant use racial slurs, make racial jokes, or direct any expletives at them.
On Monday, October 28, 2002, Ms. Brooks called Defendant Waffle House to complain about race discrimination. She obtained the number by calling 411. The Waffle House representative referred her to Jeff Allen at Collis Foods. Waffle House did not conduct any investigation or take any action after referring Ms. Brooks to Collis Foods.
Ms. Brooks called Mr. Allen to lodge a complaint. Ms. Brooks described what had happened to Plaintiffs while at the Blue Ridge Waffle House. Mr. Allen told her that he would conduct an investigation and get back to her. Ms. Denny also spoke with Mr. Allen. Mr. Allen requested that Ms. Denny provide a written statement of what had happened. Mr. Allen directed Collis Foods Area Manager Tim Farris to conduct an internal investigation of Plaintiffs' complaint. Farris directed District Manager Kristal Lucas to interview the employees of the Blue Ridge Waffle House. Ms. Lucas was not trained in conducting race discrimination investigations. She primarily investigated by talking with Blue Ridge Waffle House employees, but did not speak to all the employees who were working that day. Mr. Allen states that he wrote to Ms. Denny to remind her to send in a written statement. Ms. Denny states that she never received any communication from Mr. Allen.
Plaintiffs filed suit against Defendants Collis Foods and Waffle House, Inc., and asserted claims alleging race discrimination in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1981 and 42 U.S.C. § 2000a.
As a preliminary matter, Plaintiffs' Motion for Leave to file Excess Pages [100-1], Consent Motion for Extension of Page Limitation [119-1], Plaintiffs' Motion for Leave to File a Surreply to Defendant Waffle House's Reply Brief [124-1], and Plaintiffs' Motion to Extension of Time [128-1] are hereby GRANTED nunc pro tunc.
The Court has carefully reviewed the parties briefs and arguments. As to Defendant Waffle House,...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Kalantar v. Lufthansa German Airlines
...Id. at 189. 9. A plaintiff seeking redress under this statute may only obtain injunctive relief, not damages. Brooks v. Collis Foods, Inc., 365 F.Supp.2d 1342, 1351 (N.D.Ga.2005) (citing Newman v. Piggie Park Enters., Inc., 390 U.S. 400, 401-02, 88 S.Ct. 964, 19 L.Ed.2d 1263 (1968) (other c......
-
Long v. Aronov Realty Management, Inc.
...have struggled with the appropriate elements of a prima facie case to apply in the context of § 1981 claims.' Brooks v. Collis Foods, Inc., 365 F.Supp.2d 1342, 1353 (N.D.Ga.2005). The Eleventh Circuit has applied the standard Title VII prima facie elements to Section 1981 claims of discrimi......
-
Shumate v. Twin Tier Hospitality, LLC
... ... individually and t/a/d/b/a Clarion Hotel; Choice Hotels International, Inc.; and Lisa Pierce, Defendants ... No. 3:08cv1316 ... United States ... ...
-
Kiray v. Hy-Vee, Inc.
...2005); Johnson v. York Simpson Underwood, L.L.C., No. 1:03CV01141, 2005 WL 1378848 (M.D.N.C. June 9, 2005); Brooks v. Collis Foods, Inc., 365 F.Supp.2d 1342, 1354-57 (N.D.Ga. 2005); O'Neill v. Gourmet Sys. of Minn., Inc., 213 F.Supp.2d 1012, 1019-21 The Fourth Circuit, however, declined to ......