Waitress Sues Employer for Winning Toy Figurine, not Car, 2001

Jodee Berry was not a happy bunny when, in return for excelling at her job, she was rewarded with a toy instead of a car. Yet, she had the last laugh as we find out here.

How would you feel if your boss told you that you had won a Toyota, then handed you a little green figurine, that is a toy Yoda, instead?

This couldn’t happen in the UK but, due to America’s rhotic pronunciation, ‘-ota’ and ‘-oda’ sound almost alike.

Jodee Berry was absolutely furious.

A ‘brand new Toyota’ was promised for whichever server won a beer sales competition. So, when Jodee Berry came out on top she was thrilled with anticipation as her boss blindfolded her and led her out to the parking lot. But to the whoops and cackling from her colleagues, she removed her blindfold and was presented with a boxed toy Yoda figurine instead.

It was a prank; whilst her boss laughed it up, Berry was humiliated and she wasn’t going to stand for it.

The restaurant’s manager said the whole contest was an April Fools’ joke, yet it backfired on him when Berry quit the restaurant to file a lawsuit.

She took Gulf Coast Wings, Inc, the restaurant’s corporate owner, to court alleging breach of contract and fraudulent misrepresentation. She won. Her attorney said he could not disclose the settlement’s details, although she now had enough money to go to a local car dealership and “…pick out whatever type of Toyota she wants.”