Mario Batali Settles Tip Lawsuit For $5.25 Million

Mario Batali's long-running legal dispute with workers at his New York restaurants, over improperly withheld tips, is almost over. Law360 reported Tuesday, and publicly available court documents confirm, that Batali and his business partners will settle the class action suit, which began in July 2010, for $5.25 million.

The money represents compensation for what the plaintiffs have described as a pervasive, illegal pattern of tip skimming. They say that Batali's restaurants, among other misdeeds, took four to five percent of tips given to servers for alcohol and wine sales to pay sommeliers' salaries.

Settlements from the $5.25 million fund will be available to "all individuals who worked at the Restaurants as captains, servers, waiters, bussers, runners, back waiters, bartenders, and/or barbacks from July 22, 2004 to February 14, 2012, and who do not opt out of the settlement," according to supporting documentation for the settlement [pdf]. The exact amount due to each plaintiff is determined by the number of hours he or she has worked for the restaurants.

The 117 plaintiffs in the suit were led by Stephanie Capsolas and Hernan Ricardo Alvarado, a former waitress and kitchen runner, respectively, at Batali's West Village flagship Babbo. They are represented by New York law firms Outten & Golden LLP and Joseph, Herzfeld, Hester & Kirschenbaum LLP. Maimon Kirschenbaum, a partner at the latter firm, has been described as the "scourge of restaurateurs" because of his proclivity for legal action against high-profile restaurants.

Court documents filed Monday in New York's Southern District Court indicate that the parties agreed on the material terms of the settlement [pdf] on October 27, 2011. The schedule outlined in the documents suggests that the final settlement will take place by mid-June.

A representative for Mario Batali and his chief business partner, Joe Bastianich, refused comment when reached by HuffPost Food Tuesday night. The confidentiality clause of the settlement stipulates that neither the plaintiff nor the defendant in the case may not "communicate to any media or media representative, including but not limited to the electronic, print or digital media or social networking site, information regarding the Litigation."

Bastianich has not always been so taciturn when it comes to litigious employees. The New York Post, in a September 2011 profile of Kirschenbaum, quoted him saying:

“Money-hungry lawyers, through frivolous lawsuits, are shaking down the very foundation of Manhattan’s restaurant industry. [...] You’re forced to settle. Why go to trial and risk a $5 million settlement if you can settle for a million and a half?”

Given that the suit ended in an an out-of-court settlement for more than $5 million, Bastianich must be eating his words right now -- and hoping that others are eating Mario's pasta. You have to sell a lot of $14 plates of bavette cacio e pepe to make $5.25 million.

Read the full 43-page settlement here.

Comments

[Juliet Neary]

09:22 PM on 05/15/2013

You could settle, Mario, or you could just not steal in the first place. If any employee did to him what he did to his employees, that person would be thrown in jail. I'd say he got off cheap, for eight years of theft.

[Edna Jackson Barefoot]

12:56 AM on 09/22/2012

It's time for ABCD to man up admit their error and put our soaps back on. AMC & OLTL brought in better ratings than anything that has been put in their place. The Chew is going down hill. Katie is worse already. Soap opera fans amount to 7,000,000+ people and we are strong.. We will not give up our soap family members & that is what they are, family! The Chew has no chance. The boycott continues.

[BPWarrior]

06:13 PM on 07/16/2012

and there is a rumor that yet another lawsuit is coming, this time for the Eataly site in NYC. federal and state laws being broken for hours worked, when will they learn?

[robertsandimas]

08:31 PM on 03/11/2012

Ok, we all know about this now since you've had it posted for over a week. Dump it and give us some dirt on someone else. This is ridiculous. He got sued, paid for his indiscretion. It's over.

[moneek77]

10:37 PM on 09/07/2012

It's never over ... He's a crook. He had to be sued before the employees got their dues.

[ttsgw]

06:23 AM on 03/11/2012

Why not give his employees a decent salary and get rid of this corrupt tip system. But that is of course very un-American, not treating the employees as slaves.

[robertsandimas]

12:17 AM on 09/08/2012

Since my retirement I've been able to travel extensively. In many of the "Western" and developed countries wait staffs (and everyone else in these countries) are paid a real, liveable salary with minimum wages in the $15-$20+ range so tipping is not expected of diners or clients - in fact it's discouraged. We need to raise our minimum wage (triple would be just right). That would eliminate the "corrupt tip system" and probably raise moral among American workers.

[raker]

10:34 AM on 03/10/2012

To play devil's advocate: Could this "tip skimming" be characterized as enforcing mandatory tips for the wine steward deducted by the house based on its own calculation? If that's what it is, it's certainly objectionable but maybe not quite as bad as management stealing from the waiters to pocket a share of the tips.

[Jack Straw]

05:50 PM on 01/17/2013

The salaries of the wine stewards would have cut into the owners profits if they hadn't put those costs on the back of the service staff, so actually, it really is just like management was stealing from the waiters to further their own profits.

[raker]

3 minutes ago (10:06 AM)

It's been a long time, but when I was a "captain" in my last waitering job in Boston, by the time I tipped out the bartender, the waiters, the bussers and the wine steward, I was lucky I I left with subway fare. It was the practice that the house paid all of us tipped employees an hourly wage that was below the regular minimum wage. I don't know if that included the wine steward. I do remember that back then, when foodiness was brand new, the wine steward was an underutilized member of the team.

[PlumDumpling]

12 minutes ago ( 9:57 AM)

Waiters tip the busboy in some establishments. I never heard of it being compulsory. Would not have to be. Do not take care of the busboy who did the hardest part of the job and he sees that $100.00 tip, and you do not share? The busboy would suddenly just not be able to get around to your tables. Oops. I would consider tipping the wine steward if he actually pours the wine, but management has no right to commandeer my tips and decide that for me if the steward is not working the table with me. Usually in high end restaurants the wine steward is on salary, I think.

[Sandi K H H]

07:10 PM on 03/09/2012

Well, that's one thing crossed off my bucket list. The owners set the prices, they can charge whatever they like and that's where their income comes from. Skimming tips from underpaid waitstaff is just plain greedy, as well as stealing. I will never patronize an establishment owned by Mario Battali or Joe Bastianich. Nice job guys, I hope the 4 to 5% you were skimming is worth the future business you're going to lose from those who think you are disgusting. I wonder where else you're cutting corners to line your pockets?

[Brayne]

03:30 PM on 03/09/2012

Try to justify it any way you want. Taking any money from staff that is in a position to receive tips is disgusting. If there is a tipping pool policy in place, fine. But it should ALL go to the hourly staff. The workers obviously didn't know about an arrangement or didn't agree. If they did, there would have been evidence and there wouldn't have been a judgment that would allow a class action in the first place.

A sommelier should be a fully hired, non-tipping position. If you can't afford one, don't hire one and have the wait staff trained/educated on your wines.

Dirty management.

[Professor Wagstaff]

12:39 PM on 03/09/2012

Jesus - if you can't skim tips, what is the point of owning a restaurant?

[award12]

08:47 AM on 03/09/2012

There are restaurants that the waiter has to share their tips with the salaried persons like the manager. It is illegal. That is considered stealing tips. Even if the manager does things that are the same as the waiter. When a person is salary, you cannot take tips. But do you think the waiters will dare speak out? Never! They would lose their jobs.
I read that starbucks got sued because management were taking tips from the low payed others.

Most restaurants, the waiter has to tip out to bus boys, runners, bartenders, even the hostess. Now the hostess in my mind should be paid a decent wage and not have tips going to them.

I feel that restaurants rely on the public to pay the wages and that is not right. Most places are making bank.

[johntangier]

06:29 AM on 03/09/2012

SKIMMING TIPS, HOW LOW SOME PEOPLE GO.

[bellabeach]

09:37 AM on 03/10/2012

Pretty low and fanned you...his partner in this is Lydia Bastianich's...Lydia's Italian Cooking...son, makes me not want to watch her show anymore!!

[Wm123]

11:53 AM on 03/19/2012

So how is it fair for the waiter to make 20 percent of the gross when the kitchen staff does not? How do you make this fair for all?

[DarkElf1313]

02:54 AM on 03/09/2012

"took four to five percent of tips given to servers for alcohol and wine sales to pay sommeliers' salaries."

Ok, so seriously, it isn't like they were taking all of the tips, or even a percentage of all of the tips. it was JUST the alcohol and wine sales. I do believe that it is perfectly acceptable that a portion of that money should go to the behind the scenes people who also have worked hard, and in the cases of sommeliers, studied very hard to do what they do. From the people I know who have worked in restaurants before, it is standard practice that part of the tip pool goes to the bartender, the hostesses, and the bus boys. I am not sure why this is any different and why people are so upset about it.

[award12]

08:52 AM on 03/09/2012

you are not hearing the whole story. They were taking money for themselves. They may call it paying those salaries but in the general sense of things of course it is paying the sommoliers. It is also paying the cooks, it is also paying for the rent on the building and for his travel. Whatever that money may be, it is considered stealing.
When a person is salary--they are not allowed to take money from the tip pool, period.

[CaliforniaPuma]

12:57 AM on 03/09/2012

Say it ain't so Mario & Joe. We go back to "Mario Eats Italy." This leaves a really bad taste in my mouth---perhaps a "barnish" flavor starting at the mid-palate, wouldn't you agree, Joe? And definitely a potent whiff of "chicken coop" on the nose...

[Denice Brown]

11:46 PM on 03/08/2012

Stealing from below minimum wage workers who rely on tips is unacceptable. $5 million is not enough to pay back evil. Here's a guy who doesn't wear pants and wears Crocs 12 months a year. Yuck!

[nopilikia]

04:26 AM on 03/09/2012

The shorts and crocs are for jumping in to help with "the stomping of the grapes" whenever and were ever need may arise. Hear it's o.k. to tip the "stompers".

[Rebecca Carey]

11:27 PM on 03/08/2012

I guess he won't be able to get new crocs this spring!