That’s quite a tip!
A Manhattan diner owner shelled out a $400,000 legal settlemeâ nt last month to a waitress he falsely accused of bribing customers.
John Demos, owner of Cosmic Diner in Hell’s Kitchen, sued longtime server Judith Mejia in 2013, claiming in court papers she reduced customer bills if they gave her bigger tips.
The lawsuit was covered by The Post, and the following year Mejia sued Demos for retaliation. In December, she got the sizable settlement and an apology letter from the diner owner in which he admitted his legal claim was “false.”
“I want to take this opportunity to apologize to my former employee, Ms. Judith Mejia, who I wrongly accused of stealing,” Demos wrote. “I regret what I put her through, and I especially regret that Judith was wrongly portrayed in the news as a thief because of my false lawsuit against her.”
Mejia, who said Demos targeted her because she’d joined other workers who sued him for failing to pay them properly, claimed she hasn’t been able to work for a decade because of Demos’ bribery allegation.
“They made my life a nightmare at work, but I didn’t quit because I shouldn’t have to give up my job because I asked for fair pay,” Mejia said in a statement. “When they couldn’t chase me out, they filed a bogus lawsuit, which almost destroyed me. … Their lies took away my ability to find work, ruined my good name, my reputation, my peace, and my health.”
The now-vindicated waitress worked at Cosmic Diner for more than seven years and was hospitalized with chest pains from the stress of Demos’ bribery allegation, said her lawyer, Megan Goddard.
“Abusing our Courts to falsely accuse an employee of stealing is the lowest of the low,” Goddard said. “We battled for 10 years to clear Judithâs name — fighting for her to have her good name back was an honor.”
Demos did not return a message seeking comment.