Community, Diversity, Sustainability and other Overused Words

Starbucks Sued After Employee Refuses to Serve 2 Israelis, Calling them "F@*king Foreigners."

When they asked Starbucks for water, they were insulted by a Starbucks barista.

Ran Sikolsky and Jonathan Guttman were insulted and refused service due to their foreign ancestry at a Venice Starbucks, the two men allege in a complaint filed today at the Santa Monica courthouse.

When Sikolsky and Guttman walked up to the Starbucks counter to order coffee and water, they were asked to pay 25 cents each for the water. They complied and ten minutes later they were given the coffee, but not the water.

When they walked up to the Counter to ask for their water drinks, they were called "fucking foreigners" by the clerk behind the counter. "The clerk made this comment repeatedly and Plaintiffs recorded the incident with their cell phone. The response by the same clerk was "I will knock that motherfucker out, referring to the phone camera," says the complaint.

"The Starbucks employee acted in an outrageous manner and the manager witnessed this behavior and did nothing," says Plaintiffs attorney Scott Schutzman.

The Starbucks is located in the Ralph's market at 910 Lincoln Blvd in Venice. The incident occurred on August 29, 2019 at 12:35 pm, the complaint alleges, noting that Sikolsky, 39 and Guttman, 47 are each of Israeli descent, but have lived in the United States for several years.

The complaint alleges violations of the State's anti-discrimination statute, the Unruh act. It further alleges the "negligent and intentional infliction of emotional distress."

"Plaintiffs were discriminated against by Starbucks because Plaintiffs were charged for tap water because of their foreign ancestry, whereas people who were not foreign who ordered tap water were not charged. Further, Plaintiffs were not served with the water and were cursed at by the clerk at the Starbucks in Venice because of their foreign ancestry."

The complaint asks for a jury trial and that the plaintiffs be compensated for monetary damages in an unspecified amount.

 

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