Man Sues Starbucks After Tourette's Episode

[The Straight Story]

Man Sues Starbucks After Tourette's Episode
Federal Law Protects Tourette's Syndrome

BOCA RATON, Fla. -- Starbucks is fighting back after a man with Tourette syndrome sued the coffee chain for discrimination.

In the lawsuit filed in Palm Beach County Circuit court, Robert Friedman said Starbucks violated his rights after employees had him escorted from the shop by sheriff's deputies after a Tourette's episode.

During the episode, he reportedly banged on walls and uttered obscenities, all in front of a shop full of customers. Friedman claims he apologized for the outburst, but has no control over the symptoms of his disorder.

In a statement, the Seattle-based chain said, "We disagree with Mr. Friedman's view of what happened in the store and believe our partners acted appropriately by asking a disruptive customer to leave."

http://www.clickorlando.com/news/22509670/detail.html

[lame54]

1. I have the same reaction to starbucks coffee

[Vincardog]

2. They can refuse service to anyone they want to. AS long as it is not based on race

[dflprincess]

8. I don't think they can refuse service based on disability either

I don't see any difference between this and someone having a seizure. The guy does not have control over this and while it would be upsetting to see, it is a disability. It's not like he walked into the shop and DECIDED to have an episode.

If the people working there didn't understand what was wrong and called the police, I can understand that, but Starbucks owes the guy an apology.

[Lance_Boyle]

14. People having seizures are generally asked to leave, too. By ambulance. n/t

[dflprincess]

28. An ambulance is very different

I was recently at a restaurant when our server had a seizure and the paramedics were called. Big difference getting wheeled out on a stretcher than dragged out by cops.

We were back at the restaurant a couple weeks later and were glad to see the server was back as well. Given the level of compassion demonstrated in this thread, I would guess there are people here who would think he shouldn't be working in a service job.

[PVnRT]

17. I doubt the employees knew he had Tourette's

As for an apology, Starbuck's has offered an out-of-court settlement already.

[tkmorris]

3. Never thought I'd say it but good for Starbucks

While I have sympathy for the man's condition he has no God-given right to enter a Starbucks or any other establishment and have an episode.

[proteus_lives]

+1

[KamaAina]

10. How was he supposed to know he was about to have an episode?

Come to think of it, some people with epilepsy and other seizure disorders have "seizure dogs" who alert them when they're about to have a seizure. Wonder if that would work for Tourette's?

[farmout rightarm]

29. Correct.

...

[bluestateguy]

4. And if the man wins, we'll all pay for it with higher coffee costs

Forgive me if I am not game for seeing someone yell and scream and bang on the windows while I'm trying to enjoy my coffee at Starbucks.

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

6. Correct. Enjoying Starbuck's coffee requires 100% concentration.

[virgogal]

12. It's a "deep pockets" lawsuit,IMHO. If it had happened in a small,family owned

coffee shop there probably would not have been a lawsuit.

[ParkieDem]

16. Yep.

You're absolutely right.

[Tempest]

21. Where's your evidence of that?

He believes he was discriminated against because of his disability.

I doubt he cares who did the discriminating.

[Sheepshank]

36. how does he know that he was discriminated for his disability?

Did he wear a sign?

Don't those persons with Tourette's look and act like regular folks until the tourette's acts up?

If I were around someone who had an outburst of obscenitites, I don't think that jumping to the tourette's conclusion would be my first assumption. Kids working at Starbucks are supposed to be educated and diagnose and know how to react to psych issues?

[slackmaster]

5. SHIT!

:nuke:

[Blue_Tires]

7. this will get laughed out of court...

damn...the story implies Starbucks wanted to give a little something out-of-court... but this jerk-o and his lawyer had to push for a court date...

[Tempest]

23. Don't count on it

Discrimination against a disability is illegal.

Starbucks is going to have to prove they made a reasonable attempt to calm the man down or an attempt to discover if he was having an episode.

[Blue_Tires]

26. we will see

"Federal law treats Tourette syndrome like any other disability. State law prohibits the removal of anyone because of a physical disability, although it does allow businesses to remove unruly customers who breach the peace."

obviously none of us were there to see exactly what happened, but i don't think Starbucks will have too hard a time proving the "breach of peace" or the universal "we were concerned about the safety of the other customers and staff" defense

[Codeine]

33. Not their responsibility to diagnose

a rare - and often bogus - condition like Tourette's. Fucking ridiculous. Their job is to serve coffee.

[CoffeeCat]

9. We've become a society of...

..whiny cry babies. Everyone thinks that they're entitled to every darn thing they want--regardless
of who it affects.

People need to learn how to deal with personal harsh realities--instead of behaving like spoiled brats.

If I'm having a bad day, and i need a good cry--I don't go into a Starbuck's and proceed to wail--oblivious
of everyone around me.

Have we lost all common sense?

[ddeclue]

11. and? It's STILL disturbing the peace.. if he knows he is prone to outbursts

he shouldn't be going into public places without an expectation of being thrown out.

[Sheepshank]

13. Would he be allowed,

permitted, and unchallenged if he had an outburst of obscenities in court, in an elementary school, middle school or high school, at a health clinic, in church, on a bus. In most cases I'd say "no". Did he wear a sign, medica laert bracelet etc indicating he has an issue? Are the employees of Starbucks supposed to read his mind?

[Gemini Cat]

18. So what would you have him do?

Stay at home so he would never bother the delicate sensibilities of the star bucks crowd?

[RedCappedBandit]

19. The lawsuit is ridiculous - just like your response

What is he supposed to do, stay at home all day every day? He has the right to lead a normal life, just like everyone else.

It is unfortunate that a simple misunderstanding at Starbucks has gotten so out of hand.

[Tempest]

24. That's exactly the thought used during the civil rights era

Rosa Parks just rolled in her grave.

[MadHound]

27. Oh, so the man that I worked with who had Tourette's shouldn't be allowed to work then?

He shouldn't be allowed to enjoy as natural a life as possible? Hopefully your wish doesn't come true, and that you also don't get cancer, the man is probably one of the top five in the world when it comes to cancer treatments.

Tourette's is a disability, just like any other disability. Would you throw somebody out who had an epileptic seizure? What about somebody with cerebral palsy who couldn't speak right? Tourette's is a disability and despite the snickers and misunderstanding, it should be treated like any other disability and shouldn't be discriminated against.

[PVnRT]

15. Everyone I've ever known with that disease carries a card saying as such

If he didn't have one, how were the employees supposed to know he had Tourette's?

[Gemini Cat]

22. I've never seen a card identifying someone with TS.

[Name removed]

25. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Phoonzang]

30. How did you manange to know more than one person with Tourette's?

It's an extremely rare disease.

[PVnRT]

32. I did. You can believe me or not. I don't fucking give a shit.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

35. I know three quite well.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

20. Doesn't the law require business to provide reasonable accomodations?

I suppose this will breakdown into what "reasonable" means.

[sagetea]

31. My husband has Tourettes

His opinion on this is quite surprising. He actually felt that if this man's outbursts were severe enough to scare people, he shouldn't go out, and if he knows he is going to have an outburst, he should excuse himself, or have someone with him to take him out of the public place.
He believes this man is just out for money.

My opinion, also what I argued with him about (lol)is:
The person who is with him, my husband, (me) when he as an episode, can not, I repeat, can not, calm them down, believe me I know. You get everything from snickers to looks to people being down right mouthy and rude. They suffer everyday, all day there is no break. I have holes in walls, crunched dashboards, broken furniture, and a growing sense of panic in my gut.

You can crash a car and it won't upset them, but later you can spill a glass of water and boom...there they go, you never know when it will happen. When his "episodes" happen at home, I try damn hard not to fight back, and sing to him, that doesn't work in public, tho, lol!

Ho
sage

[Trillo]

34. Leslie E. Packer, PhD says Tourettes is not associated with rage

Over 10 years ago, some people talked about "Tourettic rage" as if rage attacks were associated with Tourette's Syndrome. In case anyone has heard that myth, let me take this opportunity to correct it yet again: there is no evidence (and never has been) that people who have Tourette's Syndrome without any other conditions are more likely to have "rage attacks." If they do have Tourette's Syndrome and rage attacks, it appears to be due to the presence of comorbid conditions -- and the more comorbid conditions they have, the greater the likelihood of having rage attacks. Does that mean that every person who has Tourette's plus comorbid conditions will experience such problems? No, it doesn't. While a significant percentage of individuals seen with TS+ in clinics have or have had problems with anger or outbursts at some point in their history, we need to be mindful that: (1) these are not random samples but clinic samples where you are more likely to encounter individuals with more serious symptomatology, and (2) in some cases, people who experience difficulty with anger without having these explosive outbursts may be included in the estimates.

http://www.tourettesyndrome.net/rage_overview.htm