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Honored Contributor
Posts: 10,746
Registered: ‎01-19-2015

Update on $30,000 Damaged Bag Saga

They want to leave him holding the bag

 

The New Jersey country club that was sued by a patron after a waiter dumped red wine  on her $30,000 Hermes handbag is turning on the butter-fingered staffer — who they claim in new legal papers is liable for the flub.

 

Alpine Country Club member Maryana Beyder sued the establishment in October, following repeated out-of-court efforts to get the club to correct the issue, which she says left her discontinued pink Hermes Kelly bag ruined beyond repair.

 

The club ignored her repeated complaints, and last week in new court filings placed blame squarely on the anonymous waiter, who has been identified in court papers only as John Doe.

 

Beyder’s attorney Alexandra Errico says she and her client are appalled the country club is throwing their own employee under the bus — and said they never meant for the liability to fall to him.

 

“It has absolutely nothing to do with the waiter, we were not trying to collect any money from the waiter,” said Errico. “There was never any intention of my client to go after this person at all. The only intention was to have the employer take responsibility.”

 

Errico says they were going after the “very, very, very rich country club,” and were merely forced to include the server in the lawsuit because of his role in the incident.

 

“We were forced to include him, but they didn’t have to,” the lawyer said. “They did not have to sue their own employee.”

 

An attorney for the club did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

~~Be careful when you follow the masses. Sometimes the 'm' is silent.~~
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Honored Contributor
Posts: 16,230
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Update on $30,000 Damaged Bag Saga

It makes sense that they'd sue where the money is, but what little I know about the case doesn't explain what the club did wrong.   Did they hire someone known to have anger management problems?  Did they ignore previous complaints about this waiter?  If I'm on a jury. I want to know those kinds of things.

 

What happened is reprehensiible, but their lawyer's words seem to imply, they're suing because the club is rich -  not because their employment practices are faulty. I'm not convinced yet.

 

 

Honored Contributor
Posts: 14,966
Registered: ‎05-23-2015

Re: Update on $30,000 Damaged Bag Saga

This is disgusting . Take better care of your fancy handbag, or leave it at home . I'm sorry it was ruined , but stuff happens. The country club throwing the server under the bus is despicable. 

" You are entitled to your opinion. But you are not entitled to your own facts."
Daniel Patrick Moynihan
Honored Contributor
Posts: 16,230
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Update on $30,000 Damaged Bag Saga

But if he worked in a small establishment and acted the same way, would the owner be responsible?   What did the club do wrong?   That's what nothing I've seen tells me.  

 

I'm not even sure it's the club throwing the waiter under the  bus -  we have no idea what they have said or what they believe.  The plaintiff and her lawyer sued the waiter "because they had to" according to the post above.  

 

Anyone can sue if they can find a lawyer.  Can they win the suit?  So far, not until they throw me off the jury!

 

 

Trusted Contributor
Posts: 1,293
Registered: ‎08-14-2013

Re: Update on $30,000 Damaged Bag Saga

I would think she'd be furious at the waiter, since, as I understand, he did this deliberately. Either I don't get it or something's fishy.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 65,680
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: Update on $30,000 Damaged Bag Saga

[ Edited ]

I find it untenable for the CC to go after the waiter. Of course the club is liable, it happened on their premises and on their watch. The only potential intervening variable would be if it could be proven the waiter did it on purpose and even then it would seem the establishment employing him is liable. One might suspect the CC is going after the waiter to further complicate the matter hoping this thing goes away, given it appears they haven't been remotely cooperative to this point. It's a lot of money for a bag but that isn't the point. It seems like it would be in their best interest to reach a settlement, which their insurance company would cover, and be done with it. They undoubtedly have insurance. They should use it. 


In my pantry with my cupcakes...
Respected Contributor
Posts: 3,940
Registered: ‎12-10-2016

Re: Update on $30,000 Damaged Bag Saga


@QVCkitty1 wrote:

This is disgusting . Take better care of your fancy handbag, or leave it at home . I'm sorry it was ruined , but stuff happens. The country club throwing the server under the bus is despicable. 


@QVCkitty1I agree, if she has that kind of money for a handbag, then she needs to get over it.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 65,680
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: Update on $30,000 Damaged Bag Saga

I guess I'm of the opinion that whether anyone thinks anyone else should have a thirty thousand dollar handbag there are those who do and they should be able to safely carry it to dinner without it being ruined by wait staff. If wait staff do ruin it, then it's up to the establishment employing that wait staff to make it right. I don't think she's entitled to the full price of the bag, whether it can be replaced or not, as the bag was not new nor was the bag a total loss. While one might hope the bag was listed on her homeowner's policy, the bag was not ruined at home, it was ruined at a commercial establishment and so it is their insurance, not hers, that should be responsible for some level of compensation. I could never and would never own a bag in that price range, but clearly this woman could and she shouldn't be discriminated against for being well heeled...


In my pantry with my cupcakes...
Honored Contributor
Posts: 14,749
Registered: ‎03-15-2014

Re: Update on $30,000 Damaged Bag Saga

Maybe Ms. Beyder will drop the lawsuit now that the waiter himself is in the crosshairs.  She had no intention of harming him; it seems she just wanted to stick it to the wealthy country club.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 39,554
Registered: ‎08-23-2010

Re: Update on $30,000 Damaged Bag Saga

 

@handygal2 

 

The only thing that would make sense with this move is if the employee was "under the influence".   JMO