MALIBU – A former hostess of the Nobu Restaurant in Malibu has filed a lawsuit, claiming that she faced retaliation from management after reporting a fellow employee for allegedly sexually assaulting her.
Plaintiff Jane Doe filed the lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court against Nobu, Malibu; a Nobu employee identified only as "Marcus," and several other unknown Nobu employees, citing employment discrimination in violation of California's constitution, sexual harassment, sexual assault and battery, and retaliation in Violation of the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA).
According to the lawsuit, the plaintiff was hired to work for Nobu as a hostess at its Malibu restaurant location. Doe claims that while she was employed there, Nobu promoted a workplace environment that allegedly did nothing to protect her and other hostesses from sexual harassment by patrons and co-workers alike.
The lawsuit states that "Marcus" was employed by the restaurant as a bar manager, despite allegedly being a serial sexual harasser. According to Doe, "Marcus" allegedly was known to get drunk on the job and grope female employees, make sexually offensive comments, and even gained access to their personal phone numbers through the employee directory to harass them by phone to solicit sexual favors or dates.
According to Doe, soon after being employed by Nobu, "Marcus" asked her for her phone number. She allegedly believed this was for work purposes and gave him her phone number. Soon afterwards, "Marcus" allegedly began to call her incessantly to make sexual advances towards her over the phone. In the following months, "Marcus'" sexual advances allegedly became more aggressive. Doe claims that "Marcus" would grope her and, in at least one instance, allegedly forcibly restrained her arms and kissed her without her consent.
Doe states that she and some of her fellow hostesses eventually reported "Marcus'" alleged actions to Nobu's general management, and after an investigation, "Marcus" was quietly terminated in early 2022. Despite his termination, "Marcus" has friends on Nobu's staff and was still welcome to return to the restaurant as a patron, allegedly to continue his harassment of Doe and other hostesses, up to as late as September 2022.
Doe claims that since "Marcus" was terminated, she is also now allegedly facing harassment from "Marcus'" friends that still work at Nobu in retaliation for getting "Marcus" terminated. She further alleges her work schedule has been changed and that more desirable work shifts have been passed to other hostesses, despite her seniority to these employees.
The plaintiff is seeking damages in excess of $500,000, including penalties, lost wages, attorneys fees, court costs, and other relief. In addition, she is seeking an injunction against Nobu to require that all supervisors undergo FEHA training by an independent and licensed professional.
She is represented in this case by attorneys J. Bernard Alexander and Jacqueline Gil, of Alexander Morrison & Fehr LLP, of Los Angeles.
Superior Court for the State of California for the County of Los Angeles case number 23STCV22043