Women sues country club after waiter spills wine on her Hermes

[the_black_tie_diyer]

To me, it seems we're not getting the full story here.

Under normal circumstances this would have been a simple liability insurance/ third-party liability insurance claim. Any employee is (should be) covered under their employers policy. (Except for gross negligence.) And that would have been the end of it. Especially a high end country club will have insurance policies fitting their setting/clients.

Anything else would be indeed gross negligence and any law suit well deserved.

But like I said - I don't think we're getting the full story/ whole picture from those articles. The matter/facts presented are way too trivial, to have smoldered for a year or longer. ...

Kind regards,
Oliver

 

[verytotes]

I can’t imagine the pain and horror of having one of your very expensive bags ruined by other people. But these kinds of stories always remind me of my late grandmother.

When i was in my early teens, my uncle had my grandparents’ bathroom renovated and paid for everything. The poor carpenter doing the renovations, while working on the ceiling, carelessly dropped a piece of wood on the pricey brand new unused toilet bowl which completely broke the tank’s lid. My uncle was furious and yelled at the carpenter he had to pay for it and he should go home for the day. When the carpenter had left, my uncle kept on rambling about it like how stupid the man was and how he needs to pay for it. My grandmother; who was a daughter of an impoverished farmer, told my uncle “make him pay?! Don’t you realize how ridiculous that sounds?! That poor man is here working trying to make money so he can buy food for his family and now you want him to pay an amount he never would have earned even if he had finished this job! Just imagine how scared and worried sick he is right now!” In the end, my uncle felt guilty and didn’t ask for payment from the carpenter. He just let the him finish the job and even gave him his daily salary although at a lower rate as agreed by both. lol

i know in this case, she’s suing the country club which has the funds for it i imagine. And I’d like to believe that it was in fact an accident and not deliberately poured “out of jealousy” like some are thinking. It’s just an overall sad situation, this can be very depressing for the bag owner too as well as the waiter.

 

[pjhm]

From the two articles I read, it seemed to me that to her the wine was being poured deliberately all over her and her bag, which was what made her really upset. Accidents happen all the time; though I’ve never had to deal with expensive items being ruined as a result, most people are fairly understanding that accidents happen, though being negligent and careless is something else. When you carry things around, there’s always the chance of something happening and to me at least, we make the choice of buying an expensive bag for example and carry it out. The problem here is he-say-she-say - the woman believing she is entitled to certain amount of compensation but the club and her insurance company believing otherwise for it’s probably impossible to prove that the intent is there when the incident happened

Their story is so bizarre; were they the only diners in the room? Did she scream? Weren’t there other witnesses? You can’t help seeing folks at other tables while you are eating. Waiters don’t deliberately torment the members, at least not at the Club where we belong!

 

[A1aGypsy]

LOL
If you can afford Hermes and a country club membership, why are you suing over something that was accidental?

Well not every club is crazy expensive but this logic doesn’t make sense to me. If you can afford a car, does that mean you shouldn’t make an insurance claim if you are hit and it was accidental?

 

[NateSelwyn25]

LOL
If you can afford Hermes and a country club membership, why are you suing over something that was accidental?

Exactly! I feel for the waiter. Makes me wonder if all this is for attention. Now, I’m interested in hearing how this suit turns out.
BTW -Did she even try to send bag to Hermès spa?

So if I hit your car and total it, because I hit an icy spot in the road, you're not gonna sue me when your insurance tells you I'm responsible? By your logic, you can afford the car you have and thus you can afford to replace it.

We also have no proof this was an accident. We have no proof it was deliberate. We can't know anything more because a lawsuit has been filed, no one is going to talk about details outside of the barebones details of the filed suit, which are a matter of public record in most countries.

The club, in my opinion, will settle before a judgement is issued at the end of the lawsuit. Because accident or not, it will be cheaper to settle since, iirc, most courts will tack on the winner's legal fees to the loser of the case.

 

[hokatie]

Their story is so bizarre; were they the only diners in the room? Did she scream? Weren’t there other witnesses? You can’t help seeing folks at other tables while you are eating. Waiters don’t deliberately torment the members, at least not at the Club where we belong!

I agree that it’s accidental not the waiter’s intention. Because he is able to get the job at the club, that’s meant he has qualified and excellent skills. No one is so fool to risk his/her job for such a jealous thing. I actually feel poor for the waiter.

 

[Sparkletastic]

Wow! I see a whole lot of jealousy and / or pure nastiness coming out in some of these comments. No one can be deemed a “show off” because they like to carry any particular purse in any particular venue. People have a right to wear what they want without narrow minded sour pusses making a judgment. Nor should someone have their rights of protection lessened because they seemingly “can afford” to own an item. These are such ugly perspectives. SMH!

As @the_black_tie_diyer said, we don’t have all the info on this story. So, it’s pure speculation on our parts as to whether the spillage was intentional or not. But, many moons ago, I was an insurance claims adjuster. As @Shelby33 said, claims aren’t settled based on incredulity about the price of a bag. It’s simply about liability and the limits of the policy for that type of claim. No insurance company or claims rep will be bothered to blink at any kind of claim because there are large, small, common and bizarre ones happening daily. I had one man make a claim because he said his cat started a fired because it was sexually attracted to him and angry at being rebuffed. So, no, a claims adjuster with any tenure has seen it all.

Unless the insurance company is unscrupulous, claims are rejected when liability can be disclaimed or a particular coverage was not included in a policy. Simple as that.

All that being said, IMO IF the waiter spilled wine on her bag - by negligence or intent - then the club should make her whole. We all should have an expectation that we can dine in an establishment and not walk out worse for wear. That is why waiters are trained (and due their tips) and you don’t grab random people off the street and tell them to sling the food around. If the restaurant refused to deal with me fairly and reasonably, I’d sue as well.

 

[Etriers]

In the course of his duties, a waiter spilled something on a customer which damaged an item belonging to the customer. Whether it was a bag, an evening gown, a man’s suit or a cashmere coat, is as irrelevant as how the various parties feel about each other. Restaurants carry insurance to cover these things (which do happen occasionally) or they simply compensate out of cash. If their insurance company refused to pay the claim, it is not unreasonable that the customer would file suit. Or more than likely, if the bag is insured, it’s actually the customer’s insurance company that is suing the club’s insurance company.

Possibly the club or their insurance company did not understand the cost of the bag or agree with her estimate, which is why it went to court. The other consideration I can think of off hand is that they were at a club of which they were members, so possibly their membership agreement places some sort of restriction on members of the club making claims against themselves. Probably not, but if that’s an understanding or tradition at that particular club, then it might explain management’s refusal to compensate them for the bag. Who knows? It’s probably pretty straightforward.

 

[Chagall]

This woman is cray, unless it was deliberate, which it wasn’t, the woman
has her own self to blame for bringing the bag to the restaurant. If she’s rich enough to buy it, she can afford the repairs. This is what happens to show offs.

This woman is crazy and a show off for using her bag. That is the most ridiculous statement I have ever heard.

 

[nevadagrl435]

The news sources I'm reading are using this story to highlight how out of control America's wealthy are. And the news I read is read by younger people already riled by many things in this country. It was basically painted as filthy rich woman sues working class waiter to pay for her handbag that costs more than what many people make in a year.

Regardless of the waiter's intent, its the club that is liable. And given they charge the equivalent of a luxury car to join and the equivalent of a year's worth of college at many schools every year thereafter, I'm sure they can afford it.

And most poor and middle class people are not aware of what a Birkin is and have likely never seen one. I don't get where the posts claiming people who can't afford a Birkin deliberately destroying them are coming from.

And yes, you are free to carry what you please, but the way our society is going, you are more and more likely to be judged harshly for it.

 

[BittyMonkey]

The article that I read was that HER insurance company declined the claim, which probably meant she didn't have a rider for that bag. Anything you own that is over a few thousand needs to be called out specifically on your policy. You basically submit proof of the cost ahead of time. She would make a claim to her insurance and then HER insurance would go after the club's insurance for reimbursement. So maybe she didn't go over her inventory with her insurance, which is something anyone should do in case something like this happens to your 30k croc and diamond Birkin.

 

[muchstuff]

Wow! I see a whole lot of jealousy and / or pure nastiness coming out in some of these comments. No one can be deemed a “show off” because they like to carry any particular purse in any particular venue. People have a right to wear what they want without narrow minded sour pusses making a judgment. Nor should someone have their rights of protection lessened because they seemingly “can afford” to own an item. These are such ugly perspectives. SMH!

As @the_black_tie_diyer said, we don’t have all the info on this story. So, it’s pure speculation on our parts as to whether the spillage was intentional or not. But, many moons ago, I was an insurance claims adjuster. As @Shelby33 said, claims aren’t settled based on incredulity about the price of a bag. It’s simply about liability and the limits of the policy for that type of claim. No insurance company or claims rep will be bothered to blink at any kind of claim because there are large, small, common and bizarre ones happening daily. I had one man make a claim because he said his cat started a fired because it was sexually attracted to him and angry at being rebuffed. So, no, a claims adjuster with any tenure has seen it all.

Unless the insurance company is unscrupulous, claims are rejected when liability can be disclaimed or a particular coverage was not included in a policy. Simple as that.

All that being said, IMO IF the waiter spilled wine on her bag - by negligence or intent - then the club should make her whole. We all should have an expectation that we can dine in an establishment and not walk out worse for wear. That is why waiters are trained (and due their tips) and you don’t grab random people off the street and tell them to sling the food around. If the restaurant refused to deal with me fairly and reasonably, I’d sue as well.

A cat scorned...

 

[Swanky]

I'm so surprised by some of the comments. . . wow!

 

[Lake Effect]

We do not have all the details of this story, but in the end, it is just sad that an expensive, handmade, luxury bag was ruined.

Yes, and it speaks to the evolution of our legal system where it has landed!

To me, it seems we're not getting the full story here.

Under normal circumstances this would have been a simple liability insurance/ third-party liability insurance claim. Any employee is (should be) covered under their employers policy. (Except for gross negligence.) And that would have been the end of it. Especially a high end country club will have insurance policies fitting their setting/clients.

Anything else would be indeed gross negligence and any law suit well deserved.

But like I said - I don't think we're getting the full story/ whole picture from those articles. The matter/facts presented are way too trivial, to have smoldered for a year or longer. ...

Kind regards,
Oliver

Yes, with involvement of insurance and legal process, the merit is decided on facts presented.

The article that I read was that HER insurance company declined the claim, which probably meant she didn't have a rider for that bag. Anything you own that is over a few thousand needs to be called out specifically on your policy. You basically submit proof of the cost ahead of time. She would make a claim to her insurance and then HER insurance would go after the club's insurance for reimbursement. So maybe she didn't go over her inventory with her insurance, which is something anyone should do in case something like this happens to your 30k croc and diamond Birkin.

This.

And beyond the facts, many impassioned opinions here.
As an exhausted grad student I accidentally spilled a carafe of water down the back of a diner attending a swanky conference center on the North Shore of LI, NY way way back in the day. My experience as a server and this person and his table’s gracious acceptance of my profuse apologies (what else could I do) have stayed with me for decades.
I carry durable vintage Coach bags for the most part because I seem to spill a few a drips on them of my travel beverage of the day on my part . Know how to clean ‘me up.
I don’t relate to the subject of the original post, but she has facts to present for as they say, due process.

 

[Birkinitis]

Sorry but have to post this picture, I attended a function last night and when the fellow came over with his glass of red wine, my new birkin flew off the table under my arm so fast it had wings!!