Ex-Waitress Can Sue Hooters Over Toy Yoda

A judge in Panama City, Fla., ruled that a former waitress can sue Hooters over allegations the restaurant promised her a new Toyota for winning a beer sales contest then gave her a toy Yoda Star Wars doll.

Jodee Berry, 26, won the contest in May and believed she’d drive away in a new car. She was blindfolded, led to the restaurant parking lot and found herself in front of a toy Yoda.

Berry quit a week later and filed a lawsuit against Gulf Coast Wings Inc., the owner of the local Hooters, alleging breach of contract and fraudulent misrepresentation.

Company lawyers filed a motion to dismiss, saying employees agree when hired to try to settle disputes through mediation or arbitration before suing.

But Berry’s lawyer, Stephen West, argued that the agreement wasn’t a contract, wasn’t binding and shouldn’t be enforced.