N.J. country club sues waiter over red wine spilled on member's $30K purse

[dalton99a]

https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/bergen/alpine/2019/11/11/alpine-country-club-nj-sues-waiter-hermes-kelly-handbag-lawsuit/2560390001/

Alpine Country Club responds to suit over wine spilled on $30K purse by suing its waiter
Rodrigo Torrejon, NorthJersey.com
Published 9:38 a.m. ET Nov. 11, 2019 | Updated 6:03 p.m. ET Nov. 11, 2019

After an Alpine woman sued a Bergen country club for $30,000 in damages when a waiter spilled wine on her ultra-expensive purse, the country club has responded by suing the waiter, records show.

In a response to the Oct. 29 lawsuit filed by Maryana Beyder against the Alpine Country Club, the country club denied almost every one of Beyder's allegations — including that it was liable for the damage to her Hermès Kelly bag — and capped off the response by suing its own employee, according to court records.

"So basically what this is is that they're asking the employee to pay whatever they owe under the law to my client," said Alexandra Errico, Beyder's attorney. "So they're suing their own employee that they hired."

On Sept. 7, 2018, Beyder was having a meal at the Alpine Country Club in Demarest when a waiter spilled red wine on the pink handbag, according to the lawsuit. The handbag was rare — having been discontinued — and essentially irreplaceable. The bag was a 30th-birthday gift for Beyder from her husband, Errico said.

Hermès handbags are often priced in the tens of thousands. In 2017, a Hermès handbag sold at an auction in Hong Kong for $377,000, breaking the world record for most expensive bag sold at auction.

[Aristus]

1. Jesus, lady; suck it up.

If you pay $30,000 for a handbag, you pretty much deserve whatever happens to it. Spills happen; accidents happen. Ruining the waiter's life because of your precious handbag is a dick thing to do...

[pandr32]

4. I completely agree

The club shouldn't have sued the waiter, either. Don't they have insurance? Geesh.

[ooky]

11. Nobody should need insurance to cover something like this.

It is unreasonable to expect someone to pay $30K for a handbag. If someone chooses to carry a $30K handbag around with them then the person who can actually afford such a handbag should expect to do so at her own risk. If you can afford a $30K handbag you can afford a Lloyd's of London insurance policy for it.

[pandr32]

12. Agreed!

[Captain Stern]

5. She's not the one ruining the waiter's life.

She's suing the Country Club where it happened.

It's the Country Club that is suing it's employee.

[Aristus]

15. Thank you.

Still, fruit of the poisoned tree, if you ask me...

[guillaumeb]

2. It is already pink.

Dye it red.

[CrispyQ]

3. If I wrote what I'm thinking I'd be banned.

So will the courts garnish his wages for the next 40 years to pay for her stupid fucking purse? Good fucking grief!

[CatMor]

6. It's hard to believe anyone is dumb enough ..

to pay 30,000.00 for a purse. The wealthy seem to be easy marks to con. To expect the waiter to pay for the purse is ridiculous.

[Cracklin Charlie]

10. You'd think a 30 year old would be smart enough,

To keep that investment in a safe place. Like, maybe not a restaurant, on a tabletop where red wine is being poured.

Is it the business’ responsibility to safeguard her valuables?

Sounds wrong to me.

[yellowcanine]

23. Sorry the purse should not be on the table in the first place.

Table is for eating. A handbag is unsanitary. Hang it on the back of the chair.

[tblue37]

28. Some will actually pay hundreds of thousands for a purse. It's conspicuous consumption for status. n

[CatMor]

29. That is so they can impress other wealthy people ...

I still say they are suckers for paying that kind of money for some small pieces of leather stitched together.

[madaboutharry]

7. One would think that someone with a $30,000 purse

would have it insured under a Personal Articles policy with the insurance company that insures their life/home/vehicles.

Personal Article insurance is very reasonable. I'm not saying she is wrong for trying to recover her loss, but these people aren't very street smart.

I don't think the country club should be suing the waiter. Something is off about that.

[samnsara]

8. I'll stick with my knock offs

..yay DHGate!

[appalachiablue]

9. Deal with it lady, geesh. The club suing the server, what? This is starting

to resemble 'Les Misérables,' Victor Hugo's novel set in France 1815-1832, when you could be sent to prison for stealing bread if starving..https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Mis%C3%A9rables

[Alithea]

13. This is obscene

My guess is that neither the club nor the employee will be ultimately held liable beyond the amount that a “normal” handbag would cost, but for the employer or the employer’s lawyer to even expose the employee to such a lawsuit - the need to hire lawyers and defend him/herself, and spending months worrying about the outcome - is sick.

They should start a GoFundMe campaign, or I hope a good lawyer volunteers to help pro-bono.

There should be a law against employers (or their insurers) suing employees for the consequences of their simple negligence in the performance of their duties. In fact, they should be required to extend the insurance cover also to the employee, so that the insurer would also be obliged to defend the employee from any direct claims.

[Cuthbert Allgood]

14. I'm with people above--she needed insurance.

I have a comic book collection that isn't worth 30K, but I have a rider on my homeowners to cover them if something happens. Same with my daughter's 18th century French violin.

That's what insurance is for.

There is no way the court makes the waiter pay for this. No way.

[JHB]

16. My bet is that it's the insurance companies driving these suits...

...in order to hash out who's liable for what and to who.

[mia]

17. "Beyder is suing both the waiter and the Alpine Country Club itself

Very Relatable Woman Sues Waiter for Spilling Wine on Her $30,000 Hermès Handbag

...This tragedy occurred last September, when Beyder was having dinner at the exclusive club. (According to a job posting for the club, to become a member requires a $65,000 initiation fee, along with annual dues of more than $19,000 after that.) She believed that the server—who was identified only as "John Doe" in the legal filing—"acted in a negligent manner" when he inadvertently spilled wine on her handbag, which, again, cost several thousand dollars more than a 2020 Honda Accord....

Errico said that Beyder has tried to resolve the situation with Alpine Country Club for more than a year, but both the club and its insurance company eventually stopped responding to her—which Errico suggested was a form of discrimination.

"It's sort of like a rich person problem," said Errico. "They couldn't comprehend that a bag could be that much. I think that was the biggest problem with that. They kind of discriminated against her that she actually owned that type of bag." And by "that type of bag," Errico means one that is only slightly less than the average annual salary for a waiter in New Jersey.

Beyder is suing both the waiter and the Alpine Country Club itself, and VICE has reached out to the club for comment. In the meantime, maybe someone will start a GoFundMe for Beyder, because we can't imagine the shame and heartbreak of being unable to carry a $30,000 handbag into one of the "gracious" dining areas of a $19,000-per-year country club. It's a devastating situation and, boy, let's hope that service industry worker is held personally and financially responsible for his actions.

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/43k8kw/very-relatable-woman-sues-waiter-for-spilling-wine-on-her-dollar30000-hermes-handbag

[TheBlackAdder]

24. Assess it to see if it's a legit one or a knock-off. A receipt doesn't mean that's the one damaged.

.

Insurance companies and lawyers can search if people also file multiple claims. Just because someone seems to be wealthy doesn't really mean that they are wealthy. I've heard of people robbing Peter to pay Paul in business and financial advisement firms. For all I know, which is not a lot here, they might be overextended, but keeping up the impression.


I'm with most here. It would have only been a hundred or two to have added it to the homeowner's personal property rider. She would have been out of she lost it or if someone snatched it from her.

.

[kairos12]

18. Maybe they should reim-purse her

with a special, holiday edition of a KFC box.

[Initech]

22. Or a knock off Kors bag that a guy sells you out of the back of his van by the airport for $10.

Hey, why does it say "Michael Karse" on it?

[BuffaloJackalope]

19. But asking them to pay 1/10th of 1% on stock trades is class warfare.

[Ilsa]

30. IMO, this is the winner response.

I wouldn't seat the Mona Lisa at my dinner table or take it on the bus with me because it's too precious. If her bag was that irreplaceable, she should have had a knockoff made to take out to dinner.

[onethatcares]

20. and tonight,

thousands won't eat a meal and thousands more will be homeless.

Meanwhile this person has a handbag worth $30,000.00.

fuck it, I'm wore out just thinking about getting my wife a decent present for her birthday.

Oh, Ms. Beyder has a "Poshmark" online store. Check it out.

[Initech]

21. If you have enough money to afford a purse that costs as most people's cars...

You can suck it up if something like that happens.

[MicaelS]

25. Anyone who buys much less uses, a $30K purse is a fucking idiot.

Anyone who pays $65K for membership to country club is a double fucking idiot.

"Hey, I'll buy up your crummy snobatorium and build condos on it!"

[Beakybird]

26. I heard that she now has Gucci bags under her eyes.

[WVlaserguy]

27. How is the employee liable?

The issue that comes to mind is how can the Country Club sue its employee for the accident? Spills, and drops are a daily event in any restaurant.