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Fifty-three African-Americans have sued Denny's Restaurant Corp., contending they were forced to leave a Springfield location because of their race.
Alonzo and Annette Hilton and their relatives alleged that Denny's employees called them racial epithets as they left the 2823 N. Glenstone Ave. restaurant on July 11, 2002, according to a petition filed last week in Greene County.
The plaintiffs --most of whom reside in Madison County, Ill., in the St. Louis area --suffered humiliation and emotional distress from the alleged incident, their Springfield attorney Eric Jensen said.
While the petition sought compensatory and punitive damages against Denny's, Jensen said his clients
were motivated more by principle than financial gain.
"I think they are just so outraged that they would be treated that way in 2002. It's not 1957 Alabama," he said.
Officials a
t Denny's South Carolina-based corporate of
fice declined to discuss the alleged incident, and referred comment to Fayetteville, Ark., attorney Curtis Hogue.
Hogue --legal counsel for Mitchell Family Properties, an Arkansas company with investment in Denny's --said neither he nor Denny's officials had seen the petition. He said he could not speak on its specific allegations.
However, Hogue was aware of accusations the plaintiffs made to the Missouri Commission on Human Rights, and denied that Denny's engaged in any discrimination. He expected Denny's to vigorously defend itself against the lawsuit, which he called "frivolous."
"Neither my client, nor Denny's, discriminates," Hogue said. "The Denny's store did everything it could to acc
ommodate these people with a limited evening staff, and evidence shows that."
The Denny's restaurant had been the site of a previous racial incident in June 2001 when a black man was
sta
bbed and severely injured by five customers described by law-enforcement officials as white suprem
acists. However, no restaurant employees were involved in that incident.
Early stop at Denny's
According to the petition, the plaintiffs, including some children, stopped at Denny's around 5:30 a.m. to eat breakfast while traveling to a Branson family reunion.
When the relatives entered, some were seated and served, while others were not, the petition alleged. After waiting for a period of time, some plaintiffs reportedly asked why they were not being served.
They were then told to leave the restaurant, and the white staffers used racial epithets, the petition alleged.
"The assistant manager told plaintiffs that plaintiffs' bus driver and all his 'colored peop
le' could leave the restaurant." The assistant manager then addressed the group with a racially offensive term and told them to "get off my property," the document also al
leged.<b
r>
Afterward, the family went to a nearby Bob Evans Restaurant, where they were "accommodated in a peaceful and orderly manner," the petition said
.
Jensen said he did not suspect they were asked to leave because of space limitations inside the establishment. When the family's bus driver first arrived at Denny's, he was reportedly told that the restaurant could accommodate the large group, the attorney said.
Tensions apparently escalated after two white patrons promptly left Denny's when the family entered, he said. That prompted the assistant manager to complain that the plaintiffs "ran her regular customers out," the petition alleged.
No physical altercations or threats were reported, Jensen said. But the petition did accuse Denny's employees of defamatio
n for allegedly "falsely accusing (plaintiffs) of disorderly conduct and other criminally and morally offensive behavior."
Several Denny's employees were listed
as defendant
s "Jane Does and John Does." Jensen expected to learn their identities during the discovery process as the case proceeded to trial.
The relatives filed a complaint with the Missouri Commission on Human
Rights a month after the incident, Jensen said. The petition was filed after they recently received right-to-sue letters from the commission, he said.
Hogue noted that the commission made no finding to support the discrimination claim.
After the alleged incident, the Denny's store investigated the incident and got employee statements, which were turned over to the commission, the Arkansas attorney said. He said at least one plaintiff declined to give Denny's a statement to help the restaurant's investigation.
The Rev. Larry Maddox, Springfield NAACP president, said he had
heard no complaint regarding Denny's since the 2001 stabbing. "I haven't had anyone call me to say there was a problem," he said. "I certainly haven&#
39;t had that pr
oblem myself."
Jensen was unaware whether any other racial discrimination lawsuits had been brought against Springfield restaurants by customers, but hoped to discourage any future discrimination with his petition.
"I didn't want this kind of behav
ior to be what Springfield is about," the attorney said.
Previous Lawsuit
Denny's corporation Web site describes itself as the country's largest full-service family restaurant chain, consisting of 557 company-owned sites and 1,064 franchised and licensed locations.
Company-owned restaurants had average sales of $1.5 million last year.
The Greene County lawsuit is not the first time the corporation has been accused of racial discrimination.
Denny's agreed to pay $46 million in damages in 1994
when it settled a class-action lawsuit brought by black Secret Service agents and California students alleging discrimination in separate incidents.
The resta
urant chain also agr
eed to retain an independent civil rights monitor, educate and train new employees in racial sensitivity, and feature blacks and other racial minority groups as customers and employees.
Hogue observed that Denny's has since been named "Best Company in America for Minorities" by Fortune magazine for its
efforts.
"This particular (Springfield) store can take the same pride that it does not discriminate," he said, "and did not discriminate in this instance
http://www.news-leader.com/today/0609-Dennyssued-107843.html
Fifty-three African-Americans have sued Denny's Restaurant Corp., contending they were forced to leave a Springfield location because of their race.
Alonzo and Annette Hilton and their relatives alleged that Denny's employees called them racial epithets as they left the 2823 N. Glenstone Ave. restaurant on July 11, 2002, according to a petition filed last week in Greene County.
The plaintiffs --most of whom reside in Madison County, Ill., in the St. Louis area --suffered humiliation and emotional distress from the alleged incident, their Springfield attorney Eric Jensen said.
While the petition sought compensatory and punitive damages against Denny's, Jensen said his clients
were motivated more by principle than financial gain.
"I think they are just so outraged that they would be treated that way in 2002. It's not 1957 Alabama," he said.
Officials a
t Denny's South Carolina-based corporate of
fice declined to discuss the alleged incident, and referred comment to Fayetteville, Ark., attorney Curtis Hogue.
Hogue --legal counsel for Mitchell Family Properties, an Arkansas company with investment in Denny's --said neither he nor Denny's officials had seen the petition. He said he could not speak on its specific allegations.
However, Hogue was aware of accusations the plaintiffs made to the Missouri Commission on Human Rights, and denied that Denny's engaged in any discrimination. He expected Denny's to vigorously defend itself against the lawsuit, which he called "frivolous."
"Neither my client, nor Denny's, discriminates," Hogue said. "The Denny's store did everything it could to acc
ommodate these people with a limited evening staff, and evidence shows that."
The Denny's restaurant had been the site of a previous racial incident in June 2001 when a black man was
sta
bbed and severely injured by five customers described by law-enforcement officials as white suprem
acists. However, no restaurant employees were involved in that incident.
Early stop at Denny's
According to the petition, the plaintiffs, including some children, stopped at Denny's around 5:30 a.m. to eat breakfast while traveling to a Branson family reunion.
When the relatives entered, some were seated and served, while others were not, the petition alleged. After waiting for a period of time, some plaintiffs reportedly asked why they were not being served.
They were then told to leave the restaurant, and the white staffers used racial epithets, the petition alleged.
"The assistant manager told plaintiffs that plaintiffs' bus driver and all his 'colored peop
le' could leave the restaurant." The assistant manager then addressed the group with a racially offensive term and told them to "get off my property," the document also al
leged.<b
r>
Afterward, the family went to a nearby Bob Evans Restaurant, where they were "accommodated in a peaceful and orderly manner," the petition said
.
Jensen said he did not suspect they were asked to leave because of space limitations inside the establishment. When the family's bus driver first arrived at Denny's, he was reportedly told that the restaurant could accommodate the large group, the attorney said.
Tensions apparently escalated after two white patrons promptly left Denny's when the family entered, he said. That prompted the assistant manager to complain that the plaintiffs "ran her regular customers out," the petition alleged.
No physical altercations or threats were reported, Jensen said. But the petition did accuse Denny's employees of defamatio
n for allegedly "falsely accusing (plaintiffs) of disorderly conduct and other criminally and morally offensive behavior."
Several Denny's employees were listed
as defendant
s "Jane Does and John Does." Jensen expected to learn their identities during the discovery process as the case proceeded to trial.
The relatives filed a complaint with the Missouri Commission on Human
Rights a month after the incident, Jensen said. The petition was filed after they recently received right-to-sue letters from the commission, he said.
Hogue noted that the commission made no finding to support the discrimination claim.
After the alleged incident, the Denny's store investigated the incident and got employee statements, which were turned over to the commission, the Arkansas attorney said. He said at least one plaintiff declined to give Denny's a statement to help the restaurant's investigation.
The Rev. Larry Maddox, Springfield NAACP president, said he had
heard no complaint regarding Denny's since the 2001 stabbing. "I haven't had anyone call me to say there was a problem," he said. "I certainly haven&#
39;t had that pr
oblem myself."
Jensen was unaware whether any other racial discrimination lawsuits had been brought against Springfield restaurants by customers, but hoped to discourage any future discrimination with his petition.
"I didn't want this kind of behav
ior to be what Springfield is about," the attorney said.
Previous Lawsuit
Denny's corporation Web site describes itself as the country's largest full-service family restaurant chain, consisting of 557 company-owned sites and 1,064 franchised and licensed locations.
Company-owned restaurants had average sales of $1.5 million last year.
The Greene County lawsuit is not the first time the corporation has been accused of racial discrimination.
Denny's agreed to pay $46 million in damages in 1994
when it settled a class-action lawsuit brought by black Secret Service agents and California students alleging discrimination in separate incidents.
The resta
urant chain also agr
eed to retain an independent civil rights monitor, educate and train new employees in racial sensitivity, and feature blacks and other racial minority groups as customers and employees.
Hogue observed that Denny's has since been named "Best Company in America for Minorities" by Fortune magazine for its
efforts.
"This particular (Springfield) store can take the same pride that it does not discriminate," he said, "and did not discriminate in this instance
http://www.news-leader.com/today/0609-Dennyssued-107843.html