Lawsuit Filed Against Los Angeles Celebrity Restaurant and Club - Amalfi Restaurant

13 July 2005

Today, a former employee of Amalfi Ristorante – a well-known celebrity restaurant and club on the trendy restaurant row on La Brea Ave. – filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against the restaurant and its owners, M.D. Sweeney, Adam Corolla, Francesco Grillo and Amalfi Entertainment Group LLC. L.A.S.C. Case No.: BC 336405.

Elizabeth Emerman, a former waitress, alleges that the restaurant’s former General Manager, Francesco Grillo, groped her buttocks and breasts and that she was subjected to a barage of lewd and sexually offensive comments and innuendos by Mr. Grillo and the kitchen staff.

Ms. Emerman alleges that she walked into the restaurant’s wine closet and found Mr. Grillo engaging in lewd acts with a female worker. According to her allegations, Ms. Emerman complained about the incident and, the next day, she was confronted by Mr. Grillo and summoned to his office. When Ms. Emerman asked him why he wanted to see her, defendant Grillo, in attempting to coerce her to have sex with him, replied: “Elizabeth, there are two reasons why I ask a woman to come to my office . . . either to be f----d or to be fired. And you are not being fired.”

Ms. Emerman alleges that she refused to submit to his sexual advance and that Mr. Grillo, in response, took her off the work schedule and fired her.

According to the Complaint, Amalfi Ristorante is co-owned by Adam Corolla and M.D. Sweeney. Mr. Corrolla is the former host of TV’s “The Man Show” and currently hosts the nationally syndicated radio program, “Loveline.” Mr. Sweeney has had an extensive career in the entertainment industry and was the founder of the Acme Comedy Theater in Los Angeles – the theater where Nia Vardolos’ comedy, “My Big Fat Greek Wedding,” was discovered by Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson.

According to Ms. Emerman’s attorney, Andrew H. Friedman of Helmer • Friedman, LLP: “Both California and federal law firmly prohibit the sexually harassing conduct alleged by Ms. Emerman. We intend to fully pursue and secure for her the full spectrum of remedies to which she is entitled.”

Source: PR Web

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