Kraja v. Bellagio, LLC

202 F. Supp. 3d 1163, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 98867, 2016 WL 4059140
CourtDistrict Court, D. Nevada
DecidedJuly 26, 2016
DocketCase No. 2:15-cv-01983-APG-NJK
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 202 F. Supp. 3d 1163 (Kraja v. Bellagio, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Nevada primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kraja v. Bellagio, LLC, 202 F. Supp. 3d 1163, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 98867, 2016 WL 4059140 (D. Nev. 2016).

Opinion

ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART DEFENDANTS’ MOTION TO DISMISS

(ECF No. 17)

ANDREW P. GORDON, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Plaintiff Andi Kraja worked as a food server at Circo restaurant in the Bellagio Hotel & Casino. He alleges that he was subjected to years of harassment and eventually demoted because of his ethnicity. He brings claims for hostile-work environment and retaliation under Title VII, discrimination and retaliation under § 1981, and state-law claims for intentional infliction of emotional distress and intentional interference with prospective economic advantage.

Defendants move to dismiss on several bases. I grant their motion in part and deny it in part. I dismiss Kraja’s complaint for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction with respect to all Title VII claims except his hostile-work environment claim and his claim that defendants intentionally failed him on a work-performance test because of his Albanian descent. I also dismiss Kra-ja’s § 1981 claims with prejudice because he withdrew them. See ECF No. 17 at 2. Finally, I dismiss both of Kraja’s state-law claims with leave to amend because portions of both claims are either untimely or implausible.

I. BACKGROUND

Kraja is a white Caucasian male of Albanian descent who began working as a food server at Circo restaurant in the Bellagio Hotel & Casino on January 21, 2011. ECF No. 11 at ¶¶ 13, 14. He alleges his manager, defendant Vincent Rotolo, repeatedly harassed him because of his heritage, saying “Albanians are lazy, conniving, and thieves.” Id. at ¶ 17. Kraja reported Roto-lo’s remarks to the restaurant’s general managei*, Fabian Forlini. Id. But Forlini “shrugged [the complaints] off,” because “Rotolo is from New York and he has the New Yorker attitude.” Id.

Kraja alleges that the harassment escalated when Rotolo learned about Kraja’s complaints. Id. at ¶ 19. On November 19, 2012, Kraja was serving a large party of guests and discovered that items had been [1167]*1167left off the check that only Rotolo could add. Id. Kraja asked Rotolo to add the items but Rotolo- avoided Kraja. Id. The guests grew impatient and Kraja insisted that Rotolo assist him. Id. Rather than comply with Kraja’s request, Rotolo shouted in response, “You fucking Albanians!” Id.

The following day, Kraja asked Forlini to document his complaints about Rotolo and “follow up with appropriate action.” Id. at ¶ 21. If Forlini refused, Kraja said he would seek help from human resources. Id. Forlini told Kraja not to contact human resources and that he would take care of the matter himself. Id. But on December 2, 2012, Rotolo started yelling at Kraja while he was serving guests in a private dining area. Id. Rotólo came within inches of Kraja’s face, shoved him, forced him into the corner of a small room, and blocked the exit with his body. Id. When Kraja finally escaped, he asked another manager, Antonio Callea, to call security. Id. But Callea refused to call until the end of Kraja’s shift. Id.

When Forlini learned about the incident the next day, he appeared to be upset but he did nothing to stop the harassment. Id. at ¶ 22. Instead, Kraja alleges that Forlini joined in the harassment and intentionally gave Kraja short notice about upcoming shifts to increase the likelihood that he would be late and could eventually be terminated. Id. at ¶ 23. Kraja also alleges that Forlini intentionally offered shifts to more junior servers to prevent Kraja from working. Id.

Kraja reported these issues to Jessica Harbaugh (the human resources representative), Dominque Bertolone (the director of food and beverage), and Jose Alvarez (the culinary union shop steward). Id. at ¶ 24. Harbaugh and Bertolone resolved the scheduling issues but did not address the root of the problem, Rotolo’s alleged racial discrimination. Id. at ¶25. As a result, Rotolo allegedly recruited Callea to join in the harassment. Id. at ¶ 26. Kraja alleges that Callea intentionally over-seated Kra-ja’s section to undermine Kraja’s ability to serve his customers. Id.

At this point, Kraja began experiencing “severe depression.” Id. at ¶ 27. He gained 63 pounds, became physically ill before reporting to work, and withdrew from his social life. Id. On May 29, 2013, Kraja applied for a position at a restaurant in Caesars. Id. at ¶ 28. Management at Caesars interviewed Kraja and informed him that he “would be a great addition.” Id. But Kraja was later told that “[ajfter speaking to your Manager Vincent Rotolo we won’t be able to continue with your application.” Id.

On June 12, 2013, Rotolo instructed Kra-ja to complete tasks that were not part of his job description, including cleaning crevices around the restaurant’s doors with a sharp knife and doing other servers’ side work. Id. at ¶ 29. He also took Kraja into a refrigerator in the kitchen, accused him of breaking it, and yelled, ‘What’s wrong with the light?” Id.

Because Kraja’s prior complaints to the human resources department did not stop the harassment, Kraja contacted Randy Morton, Bellagio’s Chief Operating Officer and President. Id. at 131. On June 15, 2013, Kraja met with Morton, Bertolone, and Alvarez and described how Rotolo, Forlini, and Callea harassed him. Id. at ¶ 32. Weeks passed with no investigation and Rotolo, Forlini, and Callea continued to harass Kraja. Id. at ¶ 33.

Kraja submitted an online application to a transfer to Prime Steakhouse, another restaurant at the Bellagio. Id. at ¶ 34. But when he contacted human resources to find out whether he would be able to transfer, he was told that his application was not in the system and only a manager could have removed it. Id. One of Kraja’s [1168]*1168former managers from a different restaurant called Prime Steakhouse to recommend Kraja for the position. Id. But Kra-ja’s application was rejected and a server with less experience was hired. Id.

In November 2013, Daniela DeGrazia replaced Rotolo as one of Circo’s assistant general managers, but Callea continued to harass Kraja. Id. at ¶ 36, Kraja allegedly reported Callea to DeGrazia many times but nothing was done. Id.

Kraja alleges that on January 6, 20.14, he was falsely accused of threatening another employee and escorted from the restaurant by security. Id. at ¶ 37. Kraja contacted Bertolone and Harbaugh, explained that he had been falsely accused, and was allowed to return to work three days later. Id. He then filed a formal grievance with the Culinary Union along with union shop steward Monique Smith. Id. at ¶ 38. Kraja was made a union steward to convey to Circo’s management that the harassment “would not be tolerated or swept under the proverbial rug.” Id. at ¶ 39.

On February 6, 2014, DeGrazia gave Kraja a “write-up” because guests had complained about his service. Id. at ¶40. When Kraja asked DeGrazia about the incident, she informed him that it had occurred on January 21 and that she wanted Kraja to return the customer’s tip to them. Id.

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202 F. Supp. 3d 1163, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 98867, 2016 WL 4059140, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kraja-v-bellagio-llc-nvd-2016.