INTRODUCTION 1 1. This is an action for damages as to: (1) Sexual Harassment under the Fair 2 Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”); (2) Failure to Prevent Harassment under the FEHA; 3 and (3) Negligent Retention of Unfit Employees; (4) Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress; 4 and Unfair Business Practices (Business and Professions Code § 17200 et seq.). 5 2. This action arises out of events involving Plaintiffs KATHERINE PAGE 6 (hereinafter “PAGE”) and ASJA SEVER (hereinafter “SEVER”) (collectively, “PLAINTIFFS”), 7 two former female servers at COQUETA, a San Francisco restaurant owned and operated by 8 celebrity chef Defendant MICHAEL CHIARELLO (hereinafter “CHEF CHIARELLO”) through 9 his company Defendant GRUPPO CHIARELLO LLC, a California Limited Liability 10 Corporation (hereinafter collectively “GRUPPO CHIARELLO”) and/or SERRA 11 HOSPITALITY GROUP, LLC (“SERRA”). Both PAGE and SEVER were sexually harassed 12 and forced to endure a hostile, sexually charged work environment at COQUETA at the hands of 13 Defendants CHEF CHIARELLO, Executive Chef DOMINICK MAIETTA, an individual 14 (hereinafter “CHEF MAIETTA”); current General Manager MIRKO GALLIANI, an individual 15 (“GALLIANI”); and current Assistant General Manager MARC PEYER, an individual 16 (“PEYER”) as well as DOES 1-50, inclusive. 17 THE PARTIES 18 3. PAGE was employed by GRUPPO CHIARELLO and/or SERRA from 19 approximately April 1, 2013 until March 13, 2016. PAGE was employed as a server at 20 COQUETA, a restaurant operated and managed by GRUPPO CHIARELLO at all times relevant 21 to the events described in this complaint. PAGE is female. 22 4. SEVER was employed by GRUPPO CHIARELLO and/or SERRA from 23 approximately May 26, 2014 through March 12, 2016. SEVER was also employed as a server at 24 COQUETA. SEVER is female. 25 5. PAGE and SEVER are informed and believe and thereon allege that Defendant 26 GRUPPO CHIARELLO was at all times relevant herein a limited liability company duly 27 organized and existing under the laws of the State of California. At all relevant times, PAGE 28 1 COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES 1 and SEVER worked at GRUPPO CHIARELLO’S COQUETA restaurant located on Pier 5 in 2 San Francisco, California. PAGE and SEVER are informed and believe and thereon allege that 3 GRUPPO CHIARELLO owns and operates the COQUETA restaurant. 4 6. PAGE and SEVER are informed and believe and thereon allege that Defendant 5 SERRA was at all times relevant herein a limited liability company duly organized and existing 6 under the laws of the State of California. At all relevant times, PAGE and SEVER worked at the 7 COQUETA restaurant located on Pier 5 in San Francisco, California. PAGE and SEVER are 8 informed and believe and thereon allege that SERRA owns and operates COQUETA, among 9 other restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area. 10 7. Defendant CHEF CHIARELLO was at all relevant times mentioned herein the 11 President of GRUPPO CHIARELLO and a resident of the State of California. CHEF 12 CHIARELLO is an American celebrity chef and author and has been a national television host of 13 his own cooking shows for over a decade on PBS, Food Network and Cooking Channel. He has 14 also appeared on the highest rated food competition shows, Top Chef and Top Chef Masters. His 15 Emmy Award-winning show Easy Entertaining with Michael Chiarello began in 2003 and airs 16 daily on Cooking Channel. CHEF CHIARELLO is a regular contributor to NBC’s The Today 17 Show, CBS’s The Early Show, Martha Stewart Living Radio, Regis & Kelly, and the San 18 Francisco Chronicle’s “Inside Scoop Voices” Column. CHEF CHIARELLO also owns and/or 19 operates several local businesses including but not limited COQUETA, the Spanish tapas style 20 restaurant located at Pier 5 in San Francisco, Bottega Ristorante in Yountville, and the Chiarello 21 Family Vineyards which is also located in Yountville. He also founded NapaStyle, a company 22 that offers a wide selection of specialty products for the kitchen, home and garden that express a 23 unique way of living based on the beauty and style of the Napa Valley experience. 24 8. Defendant CHEF MAIETTA was at all relevant times mentioned herein the 25 Executive Chef at COQUETA and, on information and belief, is currently an employee of 26 GRUPPO CHIARELLO that supervised both PAGE and SEVER. CHEF MAIETTA was at all 27 relevant times a resident of the State of California. CHEF MAIETTA is male. 28 2 COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES 1 9. Defendant GALLIANI was at all relevant times since approximately September 2 2015 the General Manager at COQUETA and, on information and belief, an employee of 3 GRUPPO CHIARELLO that supervised both PAGE and SEVER. GALLIANI was at all 4 relevant times a resident of the State of California. 5 10. Defendant PEYER was at all relevant times since approximately September 2015 6 the Assistant General Manager at COQUETA and, on information and belief, an employee of 7 GRUPPO CHIARELLO that supervised both PAGE and SEVER. IGLESIAS was at all relevant 8 times a resident of the State of California. 9 11. PAGE and SEVER are ignorant of the true names and capacities of the 10 DEFENDANTS sued herein as DOES 1 through 50 and therefore sues them by such fictitious 11 names. PAGE and SEVER are informed and believe and thereon allege that said 12 DEFENDANTS are in some manner legally responsible for the activities and damages alleged 13 herein. PAGE and SEVER will amend this Complaint to allege their true names and capacities 14 when ascertained. 15 12. PAGE and SEVER are informed and believe and thereon allege that at all times 16 herein mentioned each of the DEFENDANTS were acting as the partner, agent, servant, and 17 employee of each of the remaining DEFENDANTS, and in doing the things alleged herein was 18 acting within the course and scope of such agency and with the knowledge of the remaining 19 DEFENDANTS. Furthermore, DEFENDANTS acted as the employer and/or joint employers of 20 PAGE and SEVER as well as the other aggrieved employees and in all pertinent respects carried 21 out a joint scheme, business plan or policy, and the acts of each Defendant are legally 22 attributable to the other Defendants. 23 GENERAL ALLEGATIONS 24 13. PAGE and SEVER incorporate by this reference the factual allegations set forth 25 in the preceding paragraphs. 26 14. PAGE and SEVER were both well-liked, highly regarded servers at COQUETA 27 during the time period that they were employed by GRUPPO CHIARELLO and/or SERRA. 28 While no written performance reviews were ever provided to them, both PAGE and SEVER 3 COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES 1 consistently received verbal praise for their performance while working at the restaurant. They 2 each had a demonstrated record of achieving high sales volumes and superior guest satisfaction. 3 Due to their superior performance, PAGE and SEVER were regularly assigned to wait on high- 4 profile and VIP guests such as COQUETA’s investors, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame musician 5 Carlos Santana, movie star Russell Crowe, and reality television stars Kim Kardashian and 6 Kanye West. 7 15. Soon after they began their employment, however, PAGE and SEVER realized 8 that the work environment at the restaurant was hostile, sexually charged and abusive. Both 9 throughout PAGE and SEVER’s employment, and more recently within the last twelve months, 10 COQUETA chefs and managers have engaged in a pattern and practice of inappropriate sexual 11 comments, touching and other sex-related abuse towards COQUETA employees, including 12 PAGE and SEVER. COQUETA management either participated in the sex harassment directly 13 or allowed it to continue unabated by turning a blind eye towards the egregious, unlawful sexual 14 misconduct of the restaurant’s more prominent employees. Both PAGE and SEVER complained 15 at various times to different COQUETA managers about the sex harassment they were 16 experiencing, but nothing was done to address the problem and the harassment continued. 17 PAGE and SEVER quickly realized that COQUETA management did not care about their health, 18 safety and welfare. The combined sexual misconduct of the COQUETA chefs and managers 19 created a hostile, sexually charged and abusive working environment at COQUETA which 20 caused both PAGE and SEVER significant emotional injury. 21 16. CHEF CHIARELLO sexually harassed both PAGE and SEVER throughout their 22 GRUPPO CHIARELLO and/or SERRA employment and contributed directly to the hostile, 23 sexually charged and abusive work environment at the restaurant. For example, CHEF 24 CHIARELLO frequently made inappropriate statements to the entire staff, including PAGE and 25 SEVER, such as, “Martinis are like tits. One is too few, three is too many”. On at least one 26 occasion, he compared a new sandwich on the COQUETA menu to a vagina by stating that the 27 sandwich looked liked a “woman’s underparts” while making a triangle with his hands and 28 placing it over his crotch. Further, he directed COQUETA managers to employ the following 4 COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES 1 hiring policy: “If you don’t want to fuck them, don’t hire them.” CHEF CHIARELLO also 2 regularly made sexual comments about female customers to his employees. For example, CHEF 3 CHIARELLO informed another server that two female customers had left “snail trails” in their 4 seats after speaking to CHEF CHIARELLO, implying that the women became sexually aroused 5 after talking to CHEF CHIARELLO and left wet stains from their genitals on their chairs. More 6 recently, in November 2015, CHEF CHIARELLO, in SEVER’s presence and during one of his 7 regular visits to COQUETA, held a baguette up to his crotch while making stroking motions over 8 the bread with his hands in an overtly sexual manner.