Judge Tosses Lawyer's Breakfast Lawsuit Against NYC Health Club
Omelets, pancakes waffles, yogurt, juice. Sounds like a good breakfast. But is it worth hundreds of thousands of dollars? Probably not.
Don't try telling that to Richard Katz, a Manhattan attorney who sued the Setai Wall Street Club and Spa in November 2011 after it stopped providing a full breakfast spread. He believes that, at $5,000 a year, the club owed him his morning coffee and yogurt.
Too bad a judge disagreed.
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Ellen Coin dismissed Katz's case this week, and according to the New York Daily News, ordered him to pay the club's attorneys $440 in fees. Rumor has it she also admonished him for filing the suit, telling him that he should be ashamed of himself.
And he should be.
When the club switched from a full hot breakfast to a cold buffet, he threw a fit. Club manager Amanda Wells received the majority of his ire, according to the Daily News. Amongst other nasty comments, Richard Katz sent her an email asking her, "WHAT THE F--- IS GOING ON? ... How would you like to explain there has been no yogurt for two (2) weeks and now no cereal. When does the coffee run out?"
Wells eventually cancelled Katz's membership. Presumably in retaliation, he also sued her for $5,000, claiming she defamed him by sharing the above email.
If you're shaking your head at Richard Katz, join the club. If he can afford a $5,000-a-year membership fee, he can surely stand to spend $10 a week on some yogurt and cereal.
Related Resources:
- NYC gym member loses suit over breakfast promise (Associated Press)
- Judges Behaving Badly: Their Ill-Considered Suits Against a Dry Cleaner, and Against the Yale Club (FindLaw's Writ)
- TX Attorney Arrested for Ambulance Chasing (FindLaw's Greedy Associates)