PANAMA CITY, Fla. (AP) — A former waitress has settled her lawsuit against Hooters, the restaurant that gave her a toy Yoda doll instead of the Toyota she thought she'd won.
Jodee Berry, 27, won a beer sales contest last May at the Panama City Beach Hooters. She believed she had won a new Toyota and happily was escorted to the restaurant's parking lot in a blindfold.
But when the blindfold was removed, she found she had won a new toy Yoda — the little green character from the ``Star Wars'' movies.
David Noll, her attorney, said Wednesday that he could not disclose the settlement's details, although he said Berry can now go to a local car dealership and ``pick out whatever type of Toyota she wants.''
After the stunt, Berry quit the restaurant and filed a lawsuit against Gulf Coast Wings, Inc., the restaurant's corporate owner, alleging breach of contract and fraudulent misrepresentation.
The restaurant's manager, Jared Blair, has said the whole contest was an April Fools' joke.
Comments Listed in chronological order. Newest comments at the end.
Page 1 of 1 pages
Eric The Lumberjack
in Somewhere over the rainbow
Posted: Mon May 02, 2005 | 08:08 AM
Holy crap some people are so lame. Seriously, you don't need to sue someone because of your own stupidity and inability to defer the difference between Toyota and Toy Yoda. Were the rules written down on paper? If not, no valid case.
I, personally, would have laughed my head off. No need to sue anyone, I would have found it hilarious.
I think I'm gonna sue them just for the trauma of having to hear about this. And Winona for posting it. And Eric for continuing my suffering. You'll be hearing from my attorneys.
Maegan
in Tampa, FL - USA Member
Posted: Mon May 02, 2005 | 08:28 AM
I heard about that when it happened...It was kind of weird while they were promoting it...when I heard there was some sort of joke later, I knew right away it was a Toy Yoda.
alteregogi Member
Posted: Mon May 02, 2005 | 01:00 PM
This is crazy. If you read the article it is clear that she settled for MORE than the cost of the car. That is BS.
I think this one needs to be blamed on the Judge for not just tossing it out right away.
vince
in cali
Posted: Mon May 02, 2005 | 06:26 PM
winona what hapend 2 ur icon with the skirt?? i like that 1... :p btw ive been reading this site for a while now but this is my 2nd post. :D
Winona
in USA Member
Posted: Mon May 02, 2005 | 09:32 PM
vince, too sexy.
i started to feel like I was showing my own panties, lol.
I was gonna say that I heard about this ages ago. I see that this is the follow up where we find out how it was all settled. Must read things more carefully.
illustrator
Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 | 07:46 PM
All of you are morons. If you had worked your butt off on the basis of a malicious lie like this jackass of a human trash manager told, you'd sue too. I'm so glad she won, if for no other reason than to annoy the hell out of idiots like you lot.
bob
Posted: Sun Dec 17, 2006 | 02:06 AM
sounds like the guy above me wants to sue you guys.
have a nice life.
Tim
in NY
Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2007 | 09:19 AM
I won't be offensive like the "illustrator", but I would respectfully propose that you research the background before passing judgement. Just search "toy yoda". You'll find that several other waitresses confirmed that the manager had deliberately mislead them, even using the word "automobile". He had said he didn't know what kind of automobile it would be. It was a pretty sick joke if you ask me. I don't know that I would have gone to the extent of a lawsuit.
What is the best way to make someone work for you? Offer them something for their great service. When it's time to pay, just make up an excuse and don't pay. This is a common practice in our world today.
Both the waitress and the boss are a fault here. She shouldn't expect to receive a Toyota for doing her job and the boss should have misrepresented the prize.
