Judge Dismisses Waiters’ Suit Against Country Club

The North Ranch Country Club scored a victory when a Ventura County Superior Court judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by the club’s waiters, who alleged their tips were being skimmed by management, officials said Tuesday.

Judge Ken Riley’s decision Thursday ends more than a year of legal haggling that pitted management against employees.

“The court ruled in our favor and basically said that we were right and they were wrong,” said Tony Ciasulli, the Los Angeles-based general counsel for the upscale club. “I think everyone is glad it’s over, and it’s really something that shouldn’t have happened in the first place.”

The suit, filed by Westlake attorney Richard Hamlish in March 1996, contended that waiters were cheated out of hundreds of thousands of dollars in tips between 1993 and 1996, and that the money actually wound up lining the pockets of the restaurant’s manager and other top administrators.

However, according to Ciasulli, voluntary tipping has been discouraged at the club to ensure that patrons get equal service. Instead, a 15% mandatory service charge is added to every check.

Most of that money, he said, did go to the waiters, but portions of it were used to pay for the upkeep of the club and restaurant.

“Clubs generally don’t allow any volunteer tipping, and with a service charge they’re allowed to use a portion of that money for the club, which was done,” he said.

However, Hamlish alleges that when the lawsuit was filed, the club had no service charge policy and that patrons tipped as much as they saw fit. He said as much as 40% of the gratuities paid by patrons was never distributed to waiters.

“What the judge did was totally wrong,” he said. “The clear evidence in this case pointed to the fact that the tipping at the club was done on a voluntary basis and should have gone right to the waiters, but that didn’t happen.”

Hamlish promised that the matter is far from over. He said he will file a motion to have the case reconsidered, and if that fails, appeal the judge’s decision.

Despite the victory, the club still hasn’t found its way out of the legal woods. North Ranch has three lawsuits pending against it, two of which are being handled by Hamlish.

A gender discrimination suit filed on behalf of three female employees contends that club management decided in September 1994 to ban women from waiting on members at formal dinners.

The suit also contends that at the same time, management refused to allow women to work at banquets where tables and dance floors had to be assembled because they were weaker and took longer to do the job.

Hamlish’s second suit, filed at U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, accuses the club of violating fair labor standards by not paying employees for hundreds of overtime hours amounting to more than $500,000 logged between 1991 and 1996.

The North Ranch Country Club also faces a third suit filed by a couple who allege that women who join the club do not enjoy the same services as the men.

According to the suit filed by Marlene Forstrom and her husband, Lawrence Clark, women are typically referred to as “spouse members,” a classification they contend severely limits their status at the club.

They allege that female “spouse members” are prohibited from entering club tournaments and are given only restricted access to the 27-hole golf course.

Lawyers representing the club would not comment on the pending suits.