I disagree that its business will be "destroyed" by this lawsuit anymore than Wal-Mart is ruining our economy by failing to unionize. People need a place to go to eat and it's one of the more affordable places with ambiance in Dover. For its location and pricing, frankly I'm surprised the Lobby House isn't more successful. It's menu is decent, and while the service is a little slow, it is on par with the rest of the city. If their business is "destroyed," it certainly is not because of this lawsuit. Personally, I would blame NASA, Canada, and the invention of the biplane. And polar bears.
For me anyway, this piece of news is just that; I highly doubt it will make me more or less inclined to keep going there. Further, this took place at least two years ago, and one would think that even assuming there used to be problems such as those that have come to light, they have since been fixed. Trust me, there are much bigger problems to worry about than how one small business chooses to deal with its employees or if it chooses to continue to operate privately after it has closed. One need only look at the turmoil in the financial markets to recognize this latter point.
Nonetheless, this article is an interesting piece of news for those familiar with it:
Legislative Hangout Has a Lurid Side, Lawsuit Alleges
By Sean O'Sullivan and Ginger Gibson, Wilmington News Journal, Sept. 21, 2008
With its red-brick exterior and patio overlooking Silver Lake, the Lobby House appears to be as staid and conservative as a lobbyist in a Brooks Brothers suit haunting the hallways of nearby Legislative Hall.
Inside, servers in khaki pants and blue polo shirts serve burgers and the occasional beer to the sound of ESPN from several TVs. The Rotary Club meets there Mondays, families enjoy half-price sandwiches on Tuesdays and Team Trivia plays there Wednesdays.
Former state representative-turned-lobbyist Wayne A. Smith said the eatery, which is where Delaware Democrats nominated Lt. Gov. John Carney to run for governor, is "neat, clean and close to Legislative Hall."
But in federal court this month, a different picture emerged that made the Lobby House after hours sound more like the movie "Animal House."
Former bartender Shannon Laymon charged in a lawsuit and testimony in U.S. District Court that wild parties happened regularly – mostly after closing – with waitresses serving shots off their bodies, one offering "lap dances," managers serving liquor from their crotch areas and encouraging, or at least ignoring, waitresses going topless or flashing others.
All of this, Laymon's attorney Noel E. Primos said, created a hostile work environment and amounted to sexual harassment. He said Laymon was fired after she hired an attorney to pursue a workers' compensation claim and complained to a manager about an inappropriate comment by the owner.
After four days of testimony, a federal jury of eight agreed with Laymon.
It unanimously ruled that the Lobby House failed to take corrective action and retaliated against Laymon (who has married since she filed the lawsuit in 2007 and is now known as Laymon-Pecoraro).
She was awarded $1,500 in compensatory damages and $100,000 in punitive damages. At trial and afterward, operators of the Lobby House and their attorney, Ronald Poliquin, disputed Laymon's claims.
Owner Ken Caudill, who used to run KC's in Middletown, said last week he remains stunned. "What she said, it just didn't happen." He said the amount of the jury award is not a problem but believes the negative publicity will "destroy" the restaurant and 30 to 35 people will lose their jobs.
Attorney Poliquin said after the trial he would seek to have the jury award and verdict tossed out.
Primos said Friday that both sides had the opportunity to present their cases at trial. "There were numerous witnesses by both sides, many more by the defendant ... and the jury made its decision."
Legislative officials who frequent the restaurant were surprised by the details that emerged from the trial.
"You've got to be kidding me, it must be after 10 [p.m.]," said Smith, the former lawmaker, when told of the allegations.
Kate Bailey, a spokeswoman for Gov. Ruth Ann Minner, said she has eaten there a half-dozen times and never suspected such behavior.
"It’s not too exciting [at the Lobby House]," she said. "It's a place to eat."
"Holy cow," said state Sen. Karen Peterson, who described the Lobby House as "a handy place to meet people" and a regular destination for her end-of-session staff lunch.
Laymon, 24, began work at the Lobby House in August 2005, a college student in need of a flexible, good-paying job.
Primos told the jury that during Laymon's seven months there, female employees were advised by management to wear more revealing clothes to get better tips – one was advised to stuff her bra – and Laymon said a manager took her into the men's room to see her breasts.
Laymon and an ex-waitress testified there were regular wild parties after closing, including New Year's Eve 2005. That night, a 19-year-old waitress, who Laymon said had been drinking, stripped down to a G-string and bra and danced on the bar.
Managers did nothing to stop the display, according to testimony, and it was Laymon and another female employee who got the woman to get down and put her clothes back on.
"The Lobby House was a place where perverted behavior was commonplace," Primos told the jury in closing arguments. "Where female employees felt free to run around topless and flash their breasts."
Other witnesses disputed Laymon's claims.
One former waitress and a current waitress denied there were regular wild parties, and told the jury that the New Year's Eve incident was an anomaly.
Both also testified that they had flashed their breasts while working at the Lobby House. One bristled at the suggestion that she showed her breasts in exchange for beer, saying she did it because she felt like it.
Laymon also joined in the flashing, they said, showing off a piercing in a private area to two employees in the kitchen one night.
One who saw it claimed Laymon proudly, willingly showed off the piercing. Laymon testified that she felt pressured by a male co-worker to show it.
Primos said his client kept her mouth shut about the situation for months because she worried that if she complained, she would be fired.
Within two weeks of complaining to a manager about hearing an inappropriate remark by the owner, Primos said, Laymon was fired March 17, 2006.
Primos charged managers also were upset with Laymon for hiring an attorney several weeks earlier to pursue a workers' compensation claim for medical bills related to an on-the-job injury in October 2005.
Attorney Poliquin, in his closing statement, began with, "Wow." He told jurors if they believed Primos, everyone who worked at or went to the Lobby House "is a perverted sicko."
Poliquin and Caudill noted that Laymon had been diagnosed with depression before she went to work at the Lobby House – something Laymon acknowledged – and some Lobby House employees claimed Laymon acted erratically.
The case, in Poliquin's view, was about the right of a small restaurant to fire an employee who was hurting the business. He described Laymon as a "know-it-all" chronic complainer with an attitude problem who was bad-mouthing the establishment to customers as she served them.
"The business of the Lobby House is fun," Poliquin said, and Laymon "was miserable to be around in a place that sells fun."
As for New Year's Eve and some of the other incidents, Poliquin told the jury, "It's a bar and a nightclub. Not a corporation. Not a church."
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