A former assistant restaurant manager at the Beverly Wilshire hotel is suing several parties associated with the historic establishment, alleging all are responsible for a severe beating she received from an intoxicated customer in 2018.
Lauren Kline’s Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit names as defendants Four Seasons Hotel Ltd. the operators of the hotel; CTF Development Inc., the owners of the property; Boulevard LLC, the owners of THE Blvd restaurant and lounge within the hotel; and Jack Denault, the head of security at the hotel and restaurant.
The suit filed Tuesday alleges all the defendants had a “customer first” policy that “puts profits before the safety of workers on the premises.”
The suit alleges general negligence, negligent infliction of emotional distress, negligent hiring, negligent supervision and premises liability. The suit seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.
A Beverly Wilshire spokeswoman did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Kline graduated from Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration and became an assistant manager at THE Blvd in August 2017, the suit states.
“Ms. Kline describes her role at the Beverly Wilshire hotel as a dream job,” the suit states, adding that she considered her first day of work there “a whirlwind of excitement and challenges.”
Kline was asked to manage the hotel’s Thanksgiving holiday celebration and did so well she also was tasked with arranging the New Year’s Eve festivities, the hotel’s largest event of the year, the suit states.
But on Jan. 6, 2018, Kline approached two unruly guests and asked one of them to put out an electronic cigarette, the suit states. The pair responded by becoming confrontational, according to the suit.
The man and woman later left the restaurant and returned to the hotel lobby, but came back to the restaurant later that evening and ordered several rounds of drinks, the suit states.
The man began harassing female patrons and Kline’s co-manager asked the pair to leave, but they refused and became hostile toward the bartender, the suit states.
The man also again began using the electronic cigarette, so Kline and her colleague decided to cut off the two guests’ access to the bar, the suit states.
Kline and the co-manager notified security, but they refused to act against the pair, saying that the customer comes first, according to the suit.
Although she disagreed with the security staff, Kline continued with her shift, the suit states.
The two guests returned to the lobby, but returned minutes later and the female guest “ran toward Kline and battered her repeatedly,” the suit states.
Kline was treated by paramedics and driven home by a friend, the suit states. But she later had to be taken to hospital to be treated for a traumatic head injury and a concussion, the suit states.
Kline resigned from her job at the Beverly Wilshire in May 2018 after her therapist told her she could not return to restaurant operations due to her emotional injuries, according to the suit.
She currently is unemployed and has returned to school to make a career change, the suit states.
Kline later received an email from the Beverly Wilshire general manager stating that the hotel had hired additional security and given more training to the staff to address the concerns she raised after her attack, the suit states.