Judge Tosses Shotgun Willie's Strip Club Lawsuit Over Sexual Harassment
GLENDALE, Colo. (CBS4) - A federal judge in Denver has dismissed a lawsuit against Shotgun Willie's, a Glendale topless club, saying a former employee did not prove that she was fired as retaliation for complaining about sexual harassment at the iconic club.
"We are mystified at how this result could have occurred," said Jim Abrams, a lawyer for the former employee, Heather Price.
Price filed a lawsuit against the club, which is also known as the Bavaria Inn Restaurant, saying she was fired in 2015 after reporting that a club manager repeatedly sexually harassed her. Price was a concierge or VIP hostess at the club in 2014 and 2015. She claimed a club manager repeatedly asked her "If I was wearing panties and to prove it."
"And he asked me every time I worked," said Price. She said the coworker also "grabbed her buttocks."
Price complained to management and the topless club fired her, but club managers said she was fired for ongoing friction between her and another female employee, not for her complaints about perceived sexual harassment.
In an order issued Thursday dismissing Price's lawsuit, Chief Judge Philip Brimmer said Price failed to prove managers who fired her knew of her sexual harassment complaint, writing: "..Plaintiff has failed to demonstrate the requisite causation element of her retaliation claim."
Abrams called the ruling "very sad."
Matt Giacomini, an attorney for Shotgun Willie's, told CBS4, "We don't think there's anything more to say beyond the order."
Abrams said he is considering appealing the ruling to a higher court.