CBS2 Exclusive: Man Sues Claiming He Was Attacked By Employee At Queens McDonald's
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Instead of service with a smile, a McDonald's customer in Queens said he was smacked by employee after being refused service.
The customer has now filed a lawsuit seeking millions of dollars.
As Christine Sloan reported, exclusive video obtained by CBS2 showed customer James Jin Kim trying to record an employee who he said refused to wait on him at a McDonald's on Main Street in Flushing, Queens.
Thirty seconds later, the employee is seen coming at Kim with what appeared to be a broom, swinging it around, and smacking the phone out of his hand.
Attorney Christine Bae represents Kim, and is suing McDonald's for $10 million. She said Kim grabbed his cellphone to show that he was not being served despite waiting 15 minutes.
"Someone from the back said, 'We don't serve people like you,' pointing at him, 'You get out of my restaurant,'" Bae said. "He felt very embarrassed, and the other employees, when you see the video clip, they stand there laughing at him and ridiculing this whole situation as if it's some comedy that happened."
According to a police complaint, employee Rooshi Sajjad was charged with attempted assault during the February incident.
The Queens District Attorney's office said Sajjad pleaded guilty, and charges will be dismissed in a month if she stays out of trouble.
CBS2 discovered the employee charged in the incident still works at the McDonald's. Sloan asked her if she wanted to comment, and she said no and referred Sloan to the corporation.
CBS 2 contacted McDonald's several times about the complaint, but the company has not responded.
But McDonald's franchisee Luigi Solimeo did release a statement saying there was more to the story than appeared in the video.
"Nothing is more important than the safety and well-being of my customers and employees," Solimeo said in the statement. "The video does not capture all of the details surrounding that event last February. As this is a legal and personnel matter, it would be inappropriate for me to comment further."
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