"Wild and Wacky" Bagels

Every now and then while I'm doing legal research, I come across a case whose facts make me say "wow." Meyers v. Hot Bagels Factory, 721 N.E.2d 1068 (Ohio App. 1st Dist. 1999), is one of those cases. Here is the court's factual recap (I underlined some particularly important parts):

"[Plaintiff] Kathleen A. Meyers met Steven Clark and Pat Shea for a sandwich at a local restaurant/bagel store known as Marx Hot Bagels. [Defendant] John Marx is the president of [defendant] Hot Bagels Factory, Inc., a company comprised of four bagel stores, including Marx Hot Bagels. Meyers and her companions entered the bagel store, sat at the counter, and ordered their food. At some time Meyers placed a 'to-go' order. At the end of the meal, Clark and Marx engaged in a conversation in which Clark informed Marx that Meyers preferred a competitor's menu. After that conversation, Marx, in the presence of everyone in the store, walked up to Meyers and said, 'You look like a classy lady, what are you doing with him? You must be a really good fuck. Are you a good fuck?' He then proceeded to tell her a sexual anecdote about two customers. At the conclusion, he asked Meyers, 'So are you? Are you a good fuck?' Marx asked Meyers if she w[as] embarrassed. She told him that he was disgusting, that he was humiliating her and that he owed her an apology. As she then turned to get her 'to-go' order, Marx stated, 'I can see you have a nice firm ass. You must really be a good fuck. Are you? Are you really a good fuck?'

Meyers's testimony was substantially corroborated by Clark and Shea. Clark also testified that Marx said, 'Women are only good for fucking.' Shea testified that he heard Clark and Marx engage in banter and that he heard Marx make a comment about Clark being with a younger woman. He said Marx commented that Meyers had 'a nice ass' and 'something like she's got a nice ass or are you fucking her, too.'

Marx testified he had no memory of the incident and that he felt victimized by the lawsuit. A salesman and an employee in the store on the day of the incident testified they did not hear Marx say 'fuck' or 'ass.' The employee testified Marx was aggressive and that a lot of what he did in the restaurant could be misconstrued. He described the atmosphere of the restaurant as 'wild and wacky.'

Subsequently, Meyers described the incident as a 'brutal attack' and a 'verbal rape.' She was upset. Soon after the incident and the filing of this lawsuit, Meyers saw Marx walking in front of her house and became very frightened. Her sister, who also saw Marx that day, described him as stomping past Meyers's house in his uniform, clutching his hat. She testified he 'appeared to have a temper as he was walking past.' After seeing Marx in her neighborhood, Meyers put steel bars on all the windows of her house and began to sleep with a baseball bat next to her bed and a golf club next to her son's bed.

After the incident, Meyers was unable to sleep, eat, concentrate, or work, and became less socially active. Her friends and family noticed the difference in her personality and told her she needed to seek professional help. She contacted Dr. Myszak, a psychologist, and had five sessions with her. Dr. Myszak diagnosed Meyers as experiencing post-traumatic stress syndrome."

I'm guessing the answer to Marx's question was probably a solid "no." One thing is for certain, though: Marx Hot Bagels is one wild and wacky place. Who knows what kind of hijinx is in store for its customers? A bucket of pig's blood gets dumped on you as you walk in the door. Watch out! Be careful about ordering iced tea because it's actually one-half iced tea and one-half employee urine. Oops! Tuesdays are Employees Must Have Sex in the Kitchen and Dining Area Days. Not again! Those aren't chunks of onion on that "everything bagel," but boogers instead. Wocka wocka! Better not get the salmon cream cheese because it's actually chock-full of crabs, and I don't mean the kind you find in the ocean. Whoo-ahh! You open up your 'to-go' bag to find out it's not cream cheese slathered between the halves of your bagel, but human feces instead. Gotcha! When they get your order wrong and you ask them to change it, you get depantsed in front of everyone in the store and the owner himself hosts a Friar's Club Roast about your genitalia. Shazam! You'll have to visit to find out what wacky antics those guys are up to today! Whatever it is, it's undoubtedly wild!