IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE EIGHTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN
AND FOR BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA
CINDY WILLIAMS,
Plaintiff,
v Case No:
ICHIKOSHI (USA), Inc., d/b/a
Turtle Creek Golf Club,
Defendant.
______________________ /
COMPLAINT AND DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
Plaintiff, Cindy Williams, sues Defendant, Ichikoshi (USA), Inc., d/b/a Turtle Creek Golf Club, and alleges:
1. This is an action for damages that exceed $15,000.00.
2. The unlawful employment practices alleged below were committed within Brevard County, Florida.
3. Plaintiff is a female who resides in Brevard County, and has at all times material herein resided in Florida.
4. Defendant, Ichikoshi (USA), Inc., is a Florida profit corporation registered and doing business in the State of Florida.
5. Plaintiff was employed by the Defendant, Ichikoshi (USA), Inc., in September 2001.
6. Plaintiff was terminated on or about October 2004
COUNT I
SEX DISCRMINATION
7. Plaintiff incorporates and realleges paragraphs one through six as if set forth in full herein.
8. Plaintiff, a female, was the subject of sex discrimination by Defendant.
9. The sex discrimination of Plaintiff, by Defendant, occurred when Plaintiff was demoted and replaced by a male with less experience.
10. Plaintiff had three (3) years experience as a kitchen manager. At all times, Plaintiff performed all of the duties assigned to her in a professionally competent manner, faithfully followed all reasonable instructions given to her by her supervisors, and abided by all the rules and regulations of Defendant.
11. Defendant replaced Plaintiff with a male with less experience, cut Plaintiff’s hours from 40 hours per week to 10-15 hours per week, and cut her pay by $8.00 per hour.
11. Defendant’s actions in demoting Plaintiff and hiring a less qualified male discriminated against Plaintiff based upon her sex as alleged in this Complaint.
12. This action is brought pursuant to the Florida Civil Rights Act of 1992; Section 760.11, Florida Statutes, 2002. Plaintiff filed a formal Charge of Discrimination with the Florida Commission on Human Relations on July 25, 2005 and more than one hundred eighty (180) days have expired since the filing of said Charge of Discrimination, attached as Exhibit “A”.
13. Plaintiff has suffered and continues to suffer grave and severe
mental anguish and emotional distress, severe damage to her financial welfare, her employment prospects, her reputation in the community in which she lives and among her professional peers and to her psychological and physical health by reason of Defendant’s discriminatory actions against Plaintiff.
14. Plaintiff has retained the undersigned attorney and agreed to pay him a reasonable fee.
15. Plaintiff has exhausted her administrative remedies prior to bringing this action.
16. Plaintiff has complied with all conditions precedent prior to bringing
this action.
17. Defendant Ichikoshi (USA), Inc., willfully, knowingly, and
intentionally discriminated against Plaintiff, on the basis of her sex.
PRAYER FOR RELIEF
WHEREFORE, Plaintiff prays for judgment against Defendant Ichikoshi (USA), Inc., as follows:
A. An order requiring Defendant to reinstate Plaintiff;
B. An award for back pay, including all sums of money Plaintiff would have earned, together with such increases to which she would be entitled, had she not been subjected to discrimination based upon her sex, and interest thereon;
C. An award for expenses incurred by Plaintiff in her job search, all money paid for health benefits, all money paid for medical expenses and reinstatement of vacation entitlement.
D. An award of front pay damages representing all the sums of money Plaintiff would have earned in the future, including benefits, had she not been the victim of discrimination;
E. An award of reasonable attorney fees and all costs incurred herein;
F. An order requiring that all of Defendant’s company records be corrected to reflect no break in service of Plaintiff’s employment with Defendant.
G. Punitive damages.
H. Such other and further relief as the Court deems proper.
COUNT II
AGE DISCRIMINATION
18. Plaintiff incorporates and realleges paragraphs one through six, and ten as if set forth in full herein.
19. This action is brought pursuant to Section 760.10, Florida Statutes, 1991 to obtain relief for age discrimination committed by Defendant against Plaintiff in demoting and terminating Plaintiff from her employment because of Plaintiff’s age.
20. Plaintiff was forty-seven (47) years of age at the time of her discharge, having been born on March 29, 1957.
21. Plaintiff was employed by the Defendant on September 2001.
22. Plaintiff was discharged by Defendant due to her age on or about October 2004 and Plaintiff has been denied payment of wages and other employment prerequisites as a result of her unlawful termination.
23. Plaintiff filed a formal complaint with the U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on July 25, 2005, and more than one hundred eighty (180) days have expired since the filing of said Complaint. This filing was a joint filing with the Florida Commission on Human Relations.
24. Plaintiff was replaced in her position by a younger person.
25. Plaintiff has exhausted her administrative remedies prior to bringing this action.
26. Plaintiff has complied with all conditions precedent to bringing this action.
PRAYER FOR RELIEF
WHEREFORE, Plaintiff prays for judgment against Defendant, Ichikoshi (USA) Inc., as follows:
A. Judgment for her back pay, including all sums of money Plaintiff would have earned, together with such other increases to which she would be entitled, had she not been discriminatorily discharged;
B. An award of interest on those sums of back pay for which Defendant is liable to Plaintiff;
C. An award for expenses incurred by Plaintiff in her job search, all money paid for health benefits, and all money paid for medical expenses;
D. An award of reasonable attorney’s fees and all costs incurred herein;
E. An order requiring that all of Defendant’s personnel records be corrected to reflect satisfactory service by Plaintiff;
F. Such other damages as may be just and proper.
COUNT III
UNPAID WAGES
27. Plaintiff incorporates and realleges paragraphs 1 through 6 of this Complaint as if set forth in full herein.
28. This is an action brought pursuant to Section 448.08, Florida Statutes, for unpaid wages.
29. Defendant has failed to pay Plaintiff the vacation time and sick time accumulated as wages by Plaintiff as part of her working for Defendant.
WHEREFORE, Plaintiff demands Judgment against Defendant for her unpaid wages, together with interest and reasonable attorney’s fees and costs.
DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
Plaintiff demands a jury trial on all issues herein triable by jury.
DATED this ______ day of September, 2006.
ALLEN & ARCADIER, P.A.
________________________
Wayne L. Allen, Esquire
Florida Bar No. 110025
Mauricio Arcadier, Esquire
Florida Bar No. 131180
Attorneys for Plaintiff
700 N. Wickham Road, Suite 107
Melbourne, Florida 32935
Phone: (321) 254-7550
Fax: (321) 242-1681
Attorney: Maurice Arcadier
Status: Closed
Date Filed: 09/19/2006
Our Melbourne office is centrally located in Brevard County, enabling our lawyers to serve clients throughout “the Space Coast”, including Cocoa Beach, Palm Bay and Vero Beach.
