$4 Million Lawsuit Filed over 2023 Incident at Sioux Falls Restaurant

Two truck drivers have filed a federal lawsuit, nearly two years after they say they were denied service and harassed at a Sioux Falls restaurant.

The Backstory

According to the Atlanta Black Star, Damon Whitfield and Hector Madera, both from Pennsylvania, were transporting a load from Seattle to the East Coast when they stopped at a Pilot Flying J, at 5201 Granite Lane, on August 13, 2023, and entered the Denny’s restaurant inside to have some breakfast.

The men say they were seated by server Anne Fletcher, who gave them menus and brought them orange juice, but did not return to the table. After 45 minutes, the men say they flagged down Fletcher to tell her they were ready to order.

They claim that Fletcher accused them of yelling at her and moments later told them ''You know what? I’m not serving you people. You leave now, or I’m calling the police.'

According to police records, Fletcher did call 911, saying the men were 'unruly' and refused to leave.

When two Sioux Falls Police officers arrived, they asked the men to step outside the restaurant, and after talking with them, declined to make an arrest.

Complaints Filed

After the incident, the men say they contacted local and corporate Denny’s representatives to report the incident and say that top executives from Pilot Flying J and Denny’s called them to personally apologize.

Three weeks after the incident, Denny’s released a public statement from Roland Sponberg, the president and chief executive officer of WKS Restaurant Group, which owns and operates more than 100 Denny’s locations nationwide, including the one in Sioux Falls:

'Denny’s is committed to a culture of inclusion and excellence for all guests. Denny’s maintains a strict zero-tolerance policy when it comes to any form of discrimination. We acknowledge there were opportunities to improve the service level in this specific situation. We maintain our commitment to ongoing training and development of all staff. The employees at the location will immediately go through a dedicated training program to ensure the team delivers above and beyond our guests’ expectations. We regret this incident and want to apologize to the guests involved. Clearly, we fell short of our own standards that day and are committed to making it right.'

Server Fired

Sponberg also added that the company had conducted a 'thorough third-party investigation into the incident,' resulting in the franchise owner firing Fletcher.

New Legal Action

Last week (July 17), Whitfield and Madera filed an amended lawsuit in South Dakota U.S. District Court, accusing Denny’s Corporation, its franchisee WKS Restaurant Group, the Pilot Flying J gas station, Anne Fletcher, and restaurant manager Michael Fletcher of 'explicit racial discrimination' in violation of federal civil rights law.

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They are seeking a jury trial to determine compensatory, general, and special damages of no less than $4 million for each plaintiff, as well as punitive damages in an amount that will punish the defendants’ conduct and to “discourage others from engaging in similar discrimination in the future.”

What's Next?

The defendants have until August 7 to file a response.

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