Palm

FACTS

1. Plaintiff’s Complaint In early 2018, plaintiff, an African-American male, patronized the Red Lobster restaurant in Lakewood. On one of those occasions, plaintiff was sitting at the bar talking with another man. When the bartender, Robert Gagnon, served him his drink, he said, “There you go boss.” Plaintiff “immediately started having heart palpitations, shortness of breath, and began to sweat.” He told the bartender not to call him “boss” because “it was a racial stereotype.” The bartender laughed and “half heartily apologized.” When a new bartender came on duty, plaintiff asked to speak to a manager. The manager, Luis Perez, said that the bartender “was trying to serve you better.” Plaintiff explained that the term “boss” refers to “gang bangers, thugs, and drug dealers,” and asked the manager if he was aware of the Unruh Civil Rights Act. Plaintiff informed Mr. Perez that the Unruh Civil Rights Act

2 prohibits all forms of stereotypical discrimination in all business establishments, and that the manager should know about the Act. After that incident, plaintiff patronized the restaurant several times over several weeks, but “was concerned about whether or not Red…