Professional Documents
Culture Documents
I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 :ii 12 13 14 15 16
NO. CV412-139 PAULA DEEN, PAULA DEEN ENTERPRISES, LLC, THE LADY & SONS, LLC, THE LADY ENTERPRISES, INC, EARL W. T 1 BUBBA'1 HIERS, and UNCLE BUBBA'S SEAFOOD & OYSTER HOUSE, INC., Defendants.
17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 DEBORAH ODOM BLACK CERTIFIED COURT REPORTER P. 0. BOX 15666 SAVANNAH, GEORGIA 31416 912-598-7126
EXHIBIT
APPEARANCES OF COUNSEL
2 3
On behalf of the Plaintiff: S. Wesley Woolf, Esq. S. Wesley Woolf, P.C. 408 East Bay Street Savannah, Georgia 31401 Matthew C. Billips, Esq. I Tower Creek 3101 Tower Creek Parkway, Suite 190 Atlanta, Georgia 30339 On behalf of the Defendants: Paula Deen Enterprises, et al.: William P. Franklin, Esq. Oliver Maner, LLC 218 West State Street Savannah, Georgia 31401 On behalf of the Defendants: Earl W. uBubba!I Hiers, et al.: Thomas A. Withers, Esq. Gillen, Withers & Lake, LLC 8 East Liberty Street Savannah, Georgia 31401 Also Present: Ms. Paula Deen Mr. Earl Bubba Hiers Mrs. Lisa McCurry
4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
25
1 2 3 4 5 INDEX TO EXAMINATIONS
1 2 3 4 S 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
INDEX TO EXHIBITS Defendant's Exhibit D-1 D-2 D-3 D-4 D-5 0-6 D-7 Description Terry Overstreet File Mike Corner File Log Book Document (139) Log Book Document (147) Payioll History Payroll Transaction Detail Payroll Transaction Detail Payroll Transaction Detail D- 9 n-b D-11 0-12 D-13 D-14 D-15 D-16 Payroll Transaction Detail E-Mail/5-13-10 E-Mail/5-13-10 (continued) E-Mail/5-18-10 Letter dated 5-27-40 E-Mail/6-20--10 Charge of Discrimination of Ellen Buice Charge of Discrimination of Catherine Olney Charge of Discrimination of Sandra Walmsley Charge of Discrimination of Alayne Thomas
Page 88 96 101 104 139 140
20 21 22
RM
199
"I
0-17
23 24 25
(Original Exhibits D-11 through D-18 have been attached to the original transcript.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
(Reporter disclosure made pursuant to Article 10.B. of the Rules and Regulations of the Board of Court Reporting of the Judicial Council of Georgia.)
MR. WITHERS: If you'll go ahead and swear in the vicLeographer and witness, please.
VIDEOGBAPHER: This is the video tape deposition of Lisa Jackson. The date is February 11th. The time is 9:07 am.. Go ahead.
LISA T. JACKSON, having been first duly sworn, was examined and testified as follows: EXAMINATION By MR, WITHERS: Q. Mrs. Jackson, my name is Tom Withers. I'm
the attorney for Bubba Hiers and for his corporation, Uncle Bubba's Seafood & Oyster House, Inc. We have just met.
Im
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 A. Q.
liii be asking you some questions. If at any time you would like for me to repeat or clarify my question, please ask me to do so and I'll be happy to comply with that request. Is that acceptable ground rules? Yes. Otherwise, I'm going to assume that the
answer that you have given me is in fair response to a fair question, okay? A. tJh-huh.
Q. And your counsel might have told you, you need to say yes or no; in other words, an audible response, as opposed to an uh-huh or hunh-uh. That gets kind of difficult to understand as, you know, weeks turn into months. A. Q. Yes, sir. Now, are you under the influence-of any
medication that would prevent your understanding the nature of these proceedings and giving a fair answer in response to a question? A. No, sir. MR. WITHERS: Otherwise, the same
stipulations as in the other depositions, if that ' s acceptable. MR. BILLIPS: That's fine.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
BY MR. WITHERS: Q. Mrs. Jackson, give me your address if you would, please, ma'am. A. Q. And how long have you resided at that McCaw Street address? A. Since July 2011.
a
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
A.
Priscilla Sunimerlin.
Q. Are you the owner of that residence or do you own it jointly? A. We own it joirit1y.
Q. And, Mrs. Jackson, tell me where you grew up; in other words, where you were raised. A. Conyers, Georgia.
Q. And is that where you went to elementary and middle school? A. Yes.
Q. And I understand, ma'am, that you were adopted; is that accurate? A. Yes.
Q. As an infant?
1.9
1 2 3
A.
Q. Okay. And the name of your adoptive parents, ma'am? A. Ilene and Hugh Still.
5
6 7
Q. And were there any adoptive siblings in that family? A. Donna Galler.
8
9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. And have you maintained contact with Mrs. Galler and Mrs. Still over the years? A. No.
Q. And is that where you went throughout your high school years? A. Until the 10th grade.
Q. And what happened in the 10th grade? A. Q. I became pregnant. Okay. And as a result of that pregnancy,
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
A.
Q.
school was through the 9th grade? A Q. Yes. Did you go to school part-tune through
Q. And when would you have quit going to school as a 10th grader; do you recall? A.
Q.
December. December of your sophomore year? Uh-huh. Yes? Yes. You have to say yes, as opposed to uh-huh. Yes. Okay. It gets difficult. And did you jo
A. Q. A.
Q.
A. Q.
Q. And what about as a 12th grader, did you return to school at all -A. No.
10
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Q. A. Q.
did you start working as. a- 10th grader; do you recall? A. Uh-huh, yes. Bonanza Steakhouse, Wendy's
Restaurant. Q. And did you get married as a result of that pregnancy? A. Q. A. Yes. And who did you get married to? Eric Weimer.
9
10 :1.3W 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
Q. And how long did you and Mr. Weiner stay married? A. Three to four months. why such a short
A. I didn't have anywhere to live, and he agreed to allow me to live with him and help me. Q. And why did you not have anywhere to live? A. Because my parents -- my mother wouldn't let me live at home. Q. A. That's Mrs. Still? Uh"-huh, yeah.
20 21 22 23 24 25
11
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
year tell you you could no longer live at their home because of the pregnancy? A. Yes.
Q. And as a result of that you went to live with 4r. Weimer? A. Yes.
Q. Where did you and Mr. Weimer live strike that. How old was Mr. Weimer? A. 18.
Q. And where did you and Mr. Weimer live? A. Q. With his parents. Did you ever -- you and Mr. Weimer --- did
you ever live at the Still's residence? A. Maybe for three days, three days.
Q. Okay. And then moving on through, you said you were married for a period of months? A. Q. A. Uh-huh. Yes? Yes.
Q. And then at the conclusion of that marriage, what happened? A. We parted ways and I haven't seen him since. Q, Where did you live at the end of your marriage with Mr. Weimer?
12
1
2
A.
In Stone Mountain.
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
0
Myself.
Q. And did you subsequently get married after your marriage to Mr. Weimer? A.
Q.
point in time? A. Q. William Taylor. And, Mr. Taylor -- Mr. Weimer was a couple
A.
15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. And how long did you and Mr. Taylor stay married? A. Ten years.
13
2
3
4
5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. And when you and Mr. Taylor were married did you maintain relationships with the Stills? A. Off and on.
Q. Going back to employment, what kind of employment did you do when you were married to Mr. Taylor? A. I worked for Humana. I worked -- I
cleaned houses. Q. How long did you work at Humana? A. Approximately four years.
Q.
Where was that? Norcross. What did you do for Humana? Office manager. Humana office
A.
Q.
A.
Q, What kind of office was that that you were a manager of? A. A minor emergency room. Q. A.
Q.
So it was a medical care facility? Yes, sir. I'm sorry, but where did you tell me that
14
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
was located?
A. Norcross.
Q. And when you cleaned houses, who was your employer for that? A. mine. Q. What was that friend's name? A. Q. A. Q. Gail Broussard. How long did you do that, I'm sorry? Two years. Then after that? It was just me and my friend, a friend of
A. Yes. And I worked at the medical center for six months. Q. And then what did you do at the medical center? A. Unit clerk.
Q. And then what did you do after that? A. Moved back to Atlanta, and I left him. Q. About when was that, ma'am?
A. 1988 or 1 89
-1
89.
Q. Okay. And why did you leave Mr. Taylor? MR. BILLIPS: Object to this question as being outside the scope of discovery. You can
15
1 2 3 4 5
6
7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. And who was that employment with, ma'am? A. Q. A. Q. P. Dr. T. V. Jackson. T. V.? T. V.. What did you do for Dr. T. V. Jackson? I was the office manager.
Q. And where was that? A. Q. Jackson? A. Two years. Stone Mountain. Row long did you work for Dr. T. V.
Q. And did you subsequently get married to a Dr. Jackson? A. Yes. when was that?
16
1 2 3 4 5 6
.
Q. And I'm going to assume that's how you met the son, Dr. Jackson? A. Q. A. Yes. And his name? Jay, J-A-Y.
8 9 :10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. And where were y'all married? A. Q. Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Going back to Mr. Taylor, did you and Mr.
Taylor have children? A. Q. A. We did, one. And that childts name? Josh Taylor.
Q. What does he do? A. Q. A. Q. A. Q. He's a chef. Where is that? I'm not sure. All right. He just changed jobs. I'm not sure. Fair enough. And the first child that you
17
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
A.
Jason Taylor.
Q. He was not born to -A. Q. A. No. -- to Mr. Taylor? No, he adopted him.
Around 1984,
1 85.
Weimer? A. No.
Q. Who is that? A.
Q.
marriage to Mr. Weimer, I guess I had assumed that was as a result of the -A. Q. A.
Q.
Yes. -- pregnancy, but it was not? No, it was not. Okay. Then back to Dr. Jackson -Yes. -- you got married in Gatlinburg. Where
A. Q.
did ya1l live? A. We lived in Stone Mountain and then Conyers. Q. And ultimately ended up here in Savannah?
19
I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1
A.
Yes.
10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. And during that period of time that you were married to Dr. Jay Jackson I'm sorry --
when did you tell me you got married to Dr. Jackson? A. 1990.
Q. During that period of time moving from Stone Mountain to Conyers, Valdosta, and Savannah -- do I have that right? A. Q. A. Uh-huh. Yes? Yes.
Q. What kind of work did you do while you were married to Dr. Jackson? A. I was his office manager.
19
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 II 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
A.
Yes.
Q. And the name of his business here in town is what? A. Dr. Jay Jackson, Optometrist.
Q. Okay. And you and Dr. Jackson then stayed married until when? A.
2007.
Q. And did you file for divorce or did he file for divorce? A. I did.
Q. Was that divorce taken in Chatham County? A. Q. Yes. Your biological family, I understand at
some point in time you reconnected with your biological family? A. Yes.
Q. And tell me how that came about, if you would, please, ma'am. A. My adopted sister was an investigator at
20
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 B 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
the time. And she contacted me and gave me the information with my grandfather. And I guess the agency that handled the adoption here in Atlanta made the contact. Q. Okay. And ultimately y'all got together,
Q. And was that in the 1 96 time frame then A. Q. A. Q. A. Yes. -- or was that a process? It was a process. But about '96? Yeah, within the year.
Q. All right. Tell me the name of your biological father, please, ma'am. A. Q. A. Q. A. Q. A. Gary Henry Felice, F-E-L--I-C-E. Where does Mr.. Felice live? He's deceased. I'm sorry. And your biological mother? Emily Guffin, G-U-F-F-I'-N. And is she still with us? Yes.
21
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
A. Q.
The Landings.. Were Mr. Felice and Mrs. Gut' fin together,
Q. Did you have any biological siblings that you grew to know at that time? A. Yes. -
Q. And who is that? A. Q. A. Q. A. Q. Emily Heed, H---A-D. Okay. Cabzina, C-A-B'-R-I-N-A, Felice. Yes. Jeanine Felice. Yes, ma'am.
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
A. And Gianona Felice. Q. Can you spell Gianona for us? A. G-I-A-N-0-N-A.
Q. Okay. Have you maintained contact or relationship with the Felice family and the Heads? A. Yes. Not the Heads, the Felice family.
22
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
A.
Philadelphia.
Q. And G!anona? A. Q. Cherry Hill. You allege in your lawsuit that there is a
niece who is of mixed race. The mother of that niece would be whom? A. That is my partner's daughter -- my partner's niece, our niece. Her mother is Ashley Summe rUn. Q. sister? A. Q. A. Uh-huh. And Ashley Suiniuerlin's daughter? Daughter. So that would be Priscilla Summerlin's
25
23
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
A.
Boone.
Q. And the name of her husband? A. Her husband is deceased. Q. What was his name? A. William Martinez. Q. A. Is William the father of Adriana? Yes,
lawsuit -- is African-American? A. He is Puerto Rican African-American. Q. What does Ashley do in Boone North Carolina? A. Q. A. She's a homemaker. Is she remarried? No.
Q. Did Ashley and William Martinez have any other children? A. Yes.
Q. And their names? A. Q. A. Cyrus Martinez, and AJ Martinez. I take it Cyrus and AJ are boys? They are boys.
Q. And have you maintained a relationship with Ashley Suinmerlin's children over the years? A. Yes.
24
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. And describe your relationship with those children, if you would. A. Q. A. It's very close. Its -I'm sorry. Go ahead. It's a very close relationship. We kept
them basically at our home for a year or so until she moved. Q. A. Q. Where was that that you kept the -In Savannah. I'm sorry, you do need to let me finish,
Q. But it was Pricilla Summerlin and yourself keeping the three Surnmerlin Martinez kids? A. Yes.
Q. Okay. Your have biological mother, Emily Guffin, did she ever go to eat with you at Uncle Bubba's, or did she ever go to Uncle Bubba's and eat dinner? A. Ye5.
Q. And how many occasions? A. No more than three. Q. When she was there what time frame would that have been? A. 2009.
25
1 2 3
.
Q. And was it your relationship with her that brought her here to Savannah?
4 5
A.
Yes.
6 7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. When Mrs. Guff in was eating at Uncle Rubba's Seafood, did Bubba 1-hers act in an appropriate mariner? A. No.
Q. And tell me about that A. He had been drinking a lot, And my mother commented later as to how much he had to drink and she didn't feel it was appropriate. Q. Did he make any racist comments during any of those three dinners that she had in Uncle Bubb&s? A. I didn't hear him. MR. BILLIPS: Object to the form. You can answer. BY MR. WITHERS: Q. Did he make any inappropriate sexual
26
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 B 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q.
Yes,
Q. And where was that? A. Marys Steakhouse. Q. side? A. Abercorri. I remember that place. Is it on the south
Q. And daring that dinner did Mr. Hiers act in an inappropriate manner? MR. BILIPS; Object to the form. You can answer. THE WITNESS: No. BY MR. WITHERS: Q. During that dinner did Mr. Hiers make any racist comments?
A.
Q.
Q. Has Mr. Hers been to your residence out when you were living at The Landings? A. Q Yes, On how many occasions?
27
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
A.
One -- twice.
Q. And tell me about that. A. Once when we first moved in, he visited to see the new house. And twice he picked me up to bring me in to work after surgery. Q. When he visited, who did he visit with? A. Who did he bring? Q. Yes.
A. His Aunt Peggy. Q. During that visit to your residence did he behave in an inappropriate fashion? A. Q. No. Did he make any sexist or sexually
Q. And after your surgery was that the surgery in 2009? A. No.
22 23 24 25
28
I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 1 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. Sd Mr. Hiers did you the kindness I trust of giving you a ride into work then? A. He asked me to come in to work and I couldn't drive, so he picked me up. Q. All right. That was on two occasions? A. Just once.
Q. Did he ever visit your house when you were at Southbridge? A. Yes.
Q. And on that occasion was that following a surgery as well? A. Q. Yes. And tell us about that, please, ma'am.
A. He wanted to bring dinner to my partner for taking care of me, and check on me, see how I was feeling, and he did. And he also was inappropriate that night, drinking. And he took my pain pills from my partner. Q. He took your pain pills from your -A. Q. A. Yes. -- from your partner? Yes. Because he said he had a pain, and
29
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 2 24 25
Q. And did he make any sexually inappropriate comments -A. Q. No. -- that night? That was a night, I trust?
A. Afternoon. Q. Did he make any racially inappropriate comments that afternoon? A. No.
Q. He arrived by himself? A. Q. present? A. He was. Uh-huh. Do you recall Mr. Julian De Fontaine being
Q. Did they cook dinner for you or dinner for your partner, Ms. Surnmerlin? A. Bubba brought a milkshake and milk. Q. Did Mr. De Fontaine cook dinner for you?
A.
NO.
30
1 2 3 4 5 6
Q. And Ms. Martinez, you hired her at Uncle Bubba ' A. Correct.
7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. And that would have been during the time when you allege in your lawsuit that Uncle Bubbas
Q. And that would be at a time when you allege Mr. Iliers was acting In a sexually harassing manner virtually every day, correct? A. Q. Correct. So you gave your partner's sister then a
Q. And as I understand it, she was employed for about five months; is that accurate? A. Correct.
011
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
A. Q.
Q. It didn't have anything to do with her any difficulties that she was encountering with Mr. Hiers, I trust, correct? MR. BILLIPS: Object to the form. You can answer, THE WITNESS; Correct. BY MR. WITHERS:
Q.
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
C
Q. And you showed her the exit from that environment, correct? A. Correct.
Q. Now, Mr. Hiers has also been to dinner with one of your Sons, correct? A. Correct.
Q. And tell me about that occasion. A. Mary's, Q. And how did Mr. Hiers get along with your son? It was at Mary's, the night we were at
32
:12 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
A.
Fine.
Q. No difficulties interacting with your son in terms of inappropriate comments one way or another is that accurate? A. That's accurate.
Q. You told me that your son Josh is a chef in Atlanta. What does your son Jason do now? A. He is a wetlands specialist in environmental sites. Q. Where does he work? A. Pensacola, Florida.
A.
Pen years.
Q. Has he ever been to dinner or shared a meal with Mr. Hiers? A. He is the son that shared the meal at Mary's. Q. Okay. Has Josh ever shared a meal with Mr. fliers? A. Yes. Josh has eaten at Uncle Bubba when Bubba was there.
33
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ID 11 12 13
Q. And on how many occasions? A. Q. No more than two. And during those occasions did Mr. fliers
act inappropriately by way of making racist comments? MR. BILLIPS: Object to the form. You can answer. THE WITNESS: Not that I 1 ni aware of. BY MR. WITHERS: Q. Did he have a violent outburst when your son was present? A. Q. No. Did he make any sexually harassing
14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
comments when your son was present? A. Q. No. Since you left high school -- I think you
Q. -- have you had any course work with respect to restaurant management or anything of that sort? A. Business, but not restaurant management.
Q. And where did you do your course work for business? A. DeKaib community college.
34
1 2 3 4
U
Q. And what courses did you take? A. Q. A. Practice management, business management. How many courses? Five, six.
5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. That would have been over a period of months then? A. Over a period of years.
Q. Did you ever obtain a certificate or degree from DeKaib Community College? A. They were certificates.
Q. Have you ever taken any courses at any other school, college, technical school, what have you?
A.
Q.
Q. When you worked for Mr. Jay Jackson, give me an idea of the duties that you had with hint.
35
I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
A.
all supplies, managing the practice, making appointments, assisting him. Q. A. Was that a full-time job then? Yes.
Q. Did he run his business as a -A. Q. A. S-Corp. S-Corp? (Nodded head affirmatively)
Q. What caused the dissolution of your marriage with Dr. Jackson? A. I decided to end it.
Q. Had you been in a romantic relationship with Ambrose Harrison before you filed for divorce? A. No.
Q. Did you ever throw a hand-held radio at Mr. Ambrose Harrison? A. Yes.
36
I 2 3 4 5 6
Q. And tell me about that. A. He came into the office and he had a violent outburst, as he normally did. And I asked him to leave the office, and he didn't. And he basically refused to leave the office r so I picked it up and threw it at him. Q. Did you ever throw any objects at any other employees at Uncle Bubba's? A. No. Describe Mr. Harrison's violent outbursts
10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q.
for me, please. A. He had multiple outbursts during his employment, and with the staff, with the managers, with me, maybe one time with Bubba. Bubba said something to him about it and he curbed it a little bit, but it still popped up. Q. I'm sorry, I wasn't clear. I mean on the
occasion that you through the hand-held radio at Mr. Harrison, you said that he had a violent outburst -A. Q. A. He did. -- correct? I don't remember what it was about because
37
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
threw the radio at him, did it strike him? A. On the back of his shoulder.
In the year 2007, I trust? A. It had to be from March until -- I mean, January until March. I don't remember exactly. Q. A.
Q.
A.
Q. Now, were you with Mr. Harrison the night he was injured? A.
Q.
A. We went to -- I can't remember the name of the place -- on Wilmington Island with another manager and her husband, and waited on John Hall, the kitchen manager. And we were there approximately ten minutes. He had words with Eden, our other manager's husband, and walked out, grabbed my keys off the table, walked out, said he was going to
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
drive home. I could tell his behavior was different. I could tell he was very intoxicated. I asked him not to leave, that we would call a cab. And he became violent, irrational. He pushed me down. I said to him, I said, I'm going to tell Bubba Monday when we get back to work how you've acted. And he was irrational, screaming at Eden. He said, no, I've got a cab, you don't need to worry about me, walked away. And the next thing we hear was the car. We didn't know what it was, but a car apparently
hit him.
Q. About what time of the evening did that occur? A. It was after 11:00 p.m. I'm not sure
exactly what time it was. Q. The place that you were at on Wilmington Island was a bar, I trust, if he was drunk? A. Yes, it was a bar.
Q. And you're mentioning somebody by the name of Eden. I trust Eden Geib? A. Geib.
Q. Did you ever make a statement to the police about that incident?
39
1 2 3 4 5
A.
Yes.
Q. And did you tell them what you just told us? A. Yes.
Q. Do you remember the police officer that you spoke with? A. Q. No. Was Miss Geib working at Uncle Bubb&s
6
7 8
9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
Q. And so you went to have drinks with the chef and -- was Miss Geib a manager? A. Q. A. She was a manager. A manager after the work hour, I trust? I wasn't going to drink. I don't drink.
They were going the drink and eat. They told me they wanted to eat and get a drink. So I have never been at that point
never had been to the island and had no idea it was a bar, and made a comment to them that I have never been in a place like this. And they said we'll just go in for a minute, so that's what happened Q I didn't ask a very good question. My
22 23 24 25
40
1 2 3
0
Q. And you were the manager of both of those employees? A Q. A. Q. Uh-huh. Yes? Yes.
4 S 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
A. Q.
A.
Yes.
Yes.
in
A. Q.
A. Q.
41
A. 2 3 4 5 6 7 B 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
C
No.
Q. accurate? A. Q. A. Q.
A. Q.
were seeing MR. BILLIPS: Objection -- I'm sorry. Dr. Jackson being the optometrist?
MR. WITHERS: Yeah. tTR. BILLIPS: Jrn sorry. BY MR. WITHERS: Q.
A. Q. When you and Dr. Jackson moved here from Valdosta, had you been working as his office manager in Valdosta? A. Yes.
42
1 2 3
Q. And I'm sorry, but I cant remember when did you tell me y'all moved to Savannah? A. Q. 2000 -- let me think -- 2002. Okay. Did you act as the office manager
4 5
9 10 11
franchise, and it became available. Q. Business opportunity then? A. Q. Business opportunity. So you were married to Dr. Jackson for the
12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
first two and a half years that you were worked at Uncle Bubba'sF is that right?
A.
Yes.
Q. And during that period of two and a half years that you were married to Dr. Jackson while you were working at Uncle Bubba's, did you ever complain to him about racial harassment by Mr.
43
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Q.
married to Dr. Jackson for that two and a half year period of time when you were working at Uncle Bubba's, what did you tell him about racial harassment at Uncle Bubba 1 s? A. That it existed.
9 10 1] 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. What else did you tell him? A. About the sexual harassment. Q. What did you tell him about sexual harassment? A. That it existed there.
Q. Other than that racial harassment existed and sexual harassment existed, what did you tell Mr. Jackson? In other words, I want to know the specifics. What did you say to him and what did he say to you, best you can recall? A. I don't recall the exact thing I said. It
was after an incident occurred and I would go home and discuss it with him.. Q. What incident can you recall discussing with Dr. Jackson? A. The one about Melissa.
44
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Q.
A.
thing you have a nice ass because you don't have much for tits, on the back dock. Not the back dock, the back bar area. Q. When did he say that?
A. Melissa was a
A.
Q.
do as a result of that? A. Well, I made a comment to Bubba that that was inappropriate, and Melissa laughed. Tht's all. I probably said something to Karl about it. Q. Did you author any memos as a result of that? A. Q. A. No. E-mail? No.
Q. Back to your period of time working for Uncle Bubba's during the period of time you were married to Dr. Jackson, did you tell Dr. Jackson
25
45
1 2 3 4 5 6
Q. And what did you say? A. That when after he had been drinking he would have outbursts, which was often. Q. I'm sorry. Anything else?
7
B
A. Which was often. Q. I don't mean to talk over you and interrupt you. I'm sorry. Anything else that you told Mr. Jay Jackson about Bubba I-tiers and his violent outbursts? A. Just that I attributed it to his drinking, that when he would drink he would become more violent at work. Q. I understand that the word violent is a conclusion. What I'm trying to find out is what you told him by way of example. A. The screaming and the intimidating, and the manner in which he spoke to people, including myself. Q. Anything else that you talked to 14r. Jay Jackson about in terms of Mr. Bubba Fliers' frequent violent outbursts? A. him. I can't remember everything that I told
9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17
18 19 20 21 22
23 24 25
Case 4:12-cv-00139-WTM-GRS Document 176-1 Filed 05/15/13 Page 46 of 281 Case 4:12cv-00139-WTM-GRS ....D.ocuinent 1014 *SEALED* Filed 03/01/13 Page 46 of 281
46
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q.
subjected to sexual harassment nearly every single day you came to work. On how many days did you tell Dr. Jay Jackson about that sexual harassment? A. I don't remember how many exact times I told him. Q. Would it be five?
A. Just every time that it happened, which was almost every day. Q. Okay. And you have alleged that nearly every single day you were subjected to racial discrimination when you came to work. On how many occasions would you have told Dr. Jackson about that? A. Q. Every day. So you would have relayed to Dr. Jackson
on a near daily basis your complaints about both sexual discrimination and harassment and racial discrimination and harassment. Do I have that accurate? A. Accurate.
Q. You stayed at Uncle Bubba's for a period of five years, correct? A. Correct.
47
1 2 3
4
Q. Now, did you tell Dr. Jackson about the pornography that you were subjected to at Uncle Bubba's?
A. Yes.
5
6
Q. And how often, ma ' am, would you have been subjected to that pornography? A. Q. Every day. So, again, on a near daily basis you would
7 8
9
have told Dr. Jackson about the pornography that you were being subjected to at work? A. Yes.
10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q , Now, were there other people that had access to the Uncle Bubba's computers that were looking at pornography? A. Yes.
48
1 2 3 4 S 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
meaning other than who? BY MR. WITHERS: Q. You can go ahead and answer. MR. BILLIPS: Do you mean other than herself? BY MR. WITHERS: Q. Did you understand my question? A. Can you repeat it? MR. FRANKLIN: Would you like for me to get a Webster's Dictionary? MR. HILLIPS: Yes. 'Others' generally is defined with reference to an identified person or group. 'Others' without a definition is meaningless. BY MR. WITHERS: Q. How many people had access to the computer at Uncle Bubba's? A. The managers.
Q. Did the kitchen staff have access to the computer that was just off the kitchen? A. Yes.
Q. So it would be the managers and the kitchen workers, as well, correct? A. If the managers allowed them to use their
password, correct.
49
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 B 9 10 11 12
C
Q. Now, using that definition of others, was the access of those other folks with respect to the computers a problem with respect to pornography? MR. BILLIPS: Object to the fona. THE WITNESS; I have never heard of the
others using pornography. I did hear Bubba admit to using pornography. Y MR. WITHERS: Q. Okay. When did that occur? A. When he would come in the in the mornings and check his computer. Q. And how many occasions did you hear Bubba
13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
admit the using of pornography? A. I don't know how many exact times, but
daily he was using his computer. Q. And on how many occasions do you recall, you know, five, fifteen, or fifty, that he admitted to you to using pornography? A. Over fifteen.
Q. And on how many occasions did you see pornography on the office computers? A. Five to ten times.
Q. You have alleged that you were subjected to pornography by Mr. Hiers pointing something out on the computer about pornography?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
A.
Correct.
Q. And when did that occur? A. I don't remember the exact date.
Yes.
It was over several years.
Q. Okay. And that's what Fm trying to find out. On how many occasions did Mr. Hiers display pornography for your viewing?
A.
just want to make sure I understand your testimony appropriately on this issue of pornography in the office. Did anyone other than Mr. Hiers to your knowledge access pornography at either of the computers or any of the computers at Uncle Bubbats?
51
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
A. Q.
No.
Now, you have alleged that your father --
I trust that's your biological father -- is Sicilian and was often mistaken for being African-American. Jo I have that accurate? A. Q. trust? A. Yes. Yes. And you have photos of Mr. Felice, I
Q. And can produce those to your attorneys for inspection by us, yes? A. Yes.
Q. When did Mr. Felice pass away? A. Q. 2010. And, again, I'm sorry for your loss. Now,
you have also alleged, ma'am, that racist attitudes pervaded the workplace and were exhibited on a near daily basis. You have described to us something with respect to Mr. Hiers in that regard. Were there any other folks at Uncle Bubba!s exhibiting a racist attitude? A Yes, sir.
52
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
A. Karl Schumacher. Q. And tell me each occasion where Mr. Schumacher exhibited a racist attitude. A. He made a comment about President Obams. Q. And what was that comment, please, ma'am? A. That he didn't want -- the country would be ruined if that election. he used the N-word -- won the
53
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 B 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
MR. BILLIPS: Object to the form, You can answer. THE WITNESS: He made one when he was confronted about the temperature in the kitchen with Tony Cole in front of me and our U. S. Food rep, Julian De Fontaine, that if he thinks it's hot here, I'll send him back over to Africa; I wish I had a million dollars so I could put them on a boat and send all those F'ing N's back to Africa. BY MR WITHERS: Q. Okay.
A. Our raccoon trapper came in to do his duties with the raccoons, and Bubba made a comment in front of Sandra Sikes that he had a bunch of coons in the kitchen he would pay him $10.00 an hour or $10.00 a coon to take. Q. Continue.
A. He made it clear he didn't want black people out front using the bathroom or in the restaurant. He referred to them as bugs. Q. Continue.
A. When a black person would apply for job, he asked us to write Number 110 on top of the application and turn it over and put a. cross
54
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
A. And there were many. more. I can't remember them all right now. Q. Okay. Now, with respect to Mr. Hiers and inappropriate sexual comments, tell me each occasion that he made an inappropriate sexual comment. A. He made one about his ex-wife's breasts, that he was glad that she was gone because -- and I'm quoting --- because she small titties. He made comments to a server Dawn Price after she stated that she went to a six-minute dating club, that he would like to have six minutes with her, and she wouldn't go back again. He was always commenting on women ' s bodies and making jokes, a sexually blow job joke. Q. The comment about the ex-wife's breasts,
20 21 22 23 24 25
because the office was small and we would have several managers in there. But I know there was a manager in there, but I don't remember which one. I believe it was Sandra Sikes, but I'm not sure.
55
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. The comment made to Dawn Price, who was present when that comment was made? A. I was, and Dawn Price.
Q. The blow job joke, who was present when that comment was made? A. There were several managers in the office
when that comment was made. I'm not sure. I can't remember each one, but the office was full that day. Q. And tell me every other occasion that you can recall an inappropriate sexual comment from Mr. Hiers. A. There were comments every day. I can't remember every one. Q. Tell me every one that you can remember. A. The e-mail that they printed and brought to the meeting about why gay inarriageshould be legal. The women were nude. He passed that around the table. Q. meeting? A. It was. You allege that was at a managers'
Q. Okay. Continue with each other occasion of inappropriate sexual comments. A. He made a joke with our manager Sandra
OLT
I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Sikes about her dentures, and said, I'm sure your husband is going to like that tonight. Q. You were present for that joke I -A. Q. A. I was. -- I trust? I was.
Q. Any other inappropriate sexual comments? A. There were many others. I don't remember.
Q. Regarding racial comments, the comment to Tony -- you mentioned Tony Coleman and Julian De Fontaine. Was that a comment to Tony Cole or about Tony Cole? A. About Tony Cole in our kitchen office. Q. And Mr. De Fontaine was present for that comment? A. Yes, he was.
Yes, sir.
The raccoon trapper was present,. I trust?
A.
Q.
Yes, sir.
Is that a fellow by the name of Mike
5 .7
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
made that comment to? A. He would have made that to the managers, and he made it clear that that was his sister's policy at the Lady & Sons. Q. The black person application writings of Number 110, who also knew about that policy? A. Other managers.
A.
policy he had asked us to abide by the entire time I worked there. Q. All right. Any other inappropriate racial comments that you can recall from Mr. fliers when you worked there? A. There is too many to recall, to list
today. They were every day, just the overall atmosphere there. Q. Can you recall any others as you sit here today? A. They weren't allowed to use the bathroom
up front. They had to use their on bathroom in the back, while white staff members were allowed to use the front and enter the door, the front door. They were not allowed.
i;]
Q. 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
H
can you recall any other inappropriate racial comments by Bubba Fliers? A. Q. Yes. Tell me about those.
A. One with Martel Brown. Q. Who was that? A. Where he called him a boy, and Martel would respond back, yes, master. With Big Will, Will Fraser. Q. Yes.
A. He shook Big Will and told him he didn't have civil rights -- any F'ing civil rights because he worked for he and Paula Been. Q A. Any others? Not that I can recall at this time.
14 15 16 17 18 1 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. You have alleged that Bubba cane into the office on a near daily basis in a state of intoxication? A. He didn't come in in a state sometimes,
but he became intoxicated. Q. All right. And that the staff feared him? A. Yes.
59
1 2 3 4
ci
A.
would you like her to tell you about them? BY MR. WITHERS: Q. Tell me the name of each member of the staff that you can recall. A. There were too many to tell you.
5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. Do you recall the names specifically of anybody as we sit today who has told you or
Q. Anyone else? A Q. There is too many. I cant,. Well, this is the day that we get to find
out what you know. I'm sure your lawyers explained that to you? A. tlh-huh.
Q. And I would like to know the names of anyone else that you recall.
ME
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 lB 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
A.
Myself.
Q. Anyone else other than yourself and those people that have you named? A. John Hall.
Kelly Finch. Sara Copeland. Q. A. Q. Anyone else? I would say the entire staff. So all several hundred employees during
the period of time that you worked there for five years feared Bubba Hiers' arrival at work; is that your testimony? A. At some point in time, yes.
Q. What current employees do you know that have been told not to speak to you or your lawyers? MR. BILLIPS: Object to the form, and object to the extent that it calls her to testify regarding information provided by counsel. You can answer regarding the identities of employees who have told you that they have been told not to talk to you, or people who have been identified by people other than your lawyer, you can tell him.
61
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
THE WITNESS: Martel Brown. Will Fraser. Tanya Hazel. April McDonald, Mary Nodzack. Deiphine Jones. And I'm sure there are others. BY MR. WITHERS: Q. And what did Mr. Martel Brown tell you? A. That he was told by the white man that he can't talk to me or he'll get fired. Q. What did Will Fraser tell you? A. He couldn't talk to me and take a chance to lose his job if they found out. Q. What did Tanya Hazel tell you? A. Same thing that they were told, that they would get fired if they spoke to me. Q. What did Mary Nodzack tell you? A. Same comment, that they would be fired. Q. What did Deiphine Jones tell you? A. That they would be fired.
Q. When did Martel tell you that? A. I would say Martel told me -- he said there was a meeting where they were told that. I don't know when that meeting was. I wasn't there. It was after I left. Q. When did Will Fraser tell you that? A. Probably October -- he told me in a text message, and it was October -- it may have been
62
I 2 3 4 5 6
.
last summer.
Q. A.
Yes,
B 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. And the same for Deiphine Jones? A. Q. Yes. Tell me any witness that you're aware of
case.
A. Q. A. Q. Martel Brown. Yes. Will Fraser. Yes.
A. Those are the ones that told me they were. Q. What did Martel tell you about being intimidated? A. Martel told me that you and Bubba cornered
ci
63
him in an office when went to get a towel and tried to get him to sign a paper, and he refused to sign it Q. What did Will Fraser tell you about being intimidated about this case? A. That he was scared of Bubba and he would not -- could not take a chance on losing his job, and he loved me very much, and he enjoyed me being there, but he was too terrified that he would lose his job. And he said, what will he do to me next time? Q. Anyone else? A. No. The overall attitude according to Deiphine was that everyone was terrified to talk about it. Q. How many occasions have you spoken to Martel since this lawsuit was filed? A. I have not spoken to Martel since this
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 :19 20 21 22 23 24 25
lawsuit was filed. Q. How many occasions have you communicated with Martel since this lawsuit was filed? A. Filed this year? I haven't spoken to
Martel this year. Q. Well, this lawsuit was filed in March of 2012. Since March of 2012 how many times have
64
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 :13 14
0
Q. Since March of 2012 how many times have you spoken to or communicated with Will Fraser? A. Q. Once. Since March of 2012 how many times have
you spoken to or communicated with Tanya Hazel? A. Q. Zero. Since March of 2012 how many times have
Q. Since March of 2012 how many times have you spoken or communicated with Mary Nodzack? A. Q Once. Since March of 2012 how many times have
15 16 17 18
you spoken to or communicated with Deiphine Jones? A. Q. take? A. Phone calls, texts, personal visits Several times. In what forms do those communications
19 20 21 22 23 24 25
here -- not here, in Atlanta. Q. You used to work with her son is that right? A. Q. Deiphine? Deiphine's son?
65
1 2 3 4 5
A. No. Her brother works for me now. Q. Brother? That's who we know as Hungry? A. Q. Right, And where do y'all work at?
6 7 B 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. when did Martel Brown coirnunicate to you that me, Tom Withers, and Bubba Hiers tried to get him to sign a paper that he refused to sign? A. I don't remember the exact month. I know
it was the end of the year maybe last year. I don't remember the exact month. Q. correct?
A.
No, it wasn't this year. It was 2011. MR. BILLIPS: This is 2013. THE WITNESS; Oh, you're right. You're
right. Yes, it was 2012. BY MR. WITHERS: Q. And when did you speak with Mattel or communicate with Martel where he described some offensive conduct by myself?
1 2 3 4 5 6
A.
spoke to them. It was 2011. MR. WOOLF: You're mischaracterizing her testimony. THE WITNESS: No, I didn't say you abused him. He said he felt railroaded. BY MR. WITHERS: Q. I thought we were talking about intimidation; are we not? MR. WOOLF: Ask the question again. Get the question on the table. MR. BILLIPS: Yeah. MR. WITHERS: You know what, I think the
7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Rule allows one person to make an objection. MR. BILLIPS: Ask the question. MR. WOOLF: Is that right for you two, too? MR. WITHERS: We actually represent separate defendants. MR. WOOLF; So y'all can talk at the same time for this or one at the time? MR. BILLIPS; Ask the question again. BY MR. WITHERS: Q. E thought we were talking about
intimidation?
67
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
MR. BILLIPS: I'm sorry, that's not a question. Could you ask the question? MR. WITHERS: That's the question. I thought we were talking about intimidation. MR. BILLIPS; That's not a question. THE WITNESS; It's a statement. MR. BILLIPS: That's your statement about what you thought. If you have a question, please ask your question. MR. WITHERS; I'm going to ask the question one more time. BY MR. WITHERS: Q. I thought that you and I were speaking
B 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
about intimidation; were we not? A. We were speaking about Martel Brown. Q. When did Martel Brown communicate to you that he had been intimidated by me? A. of 2012. Q. A. After this lawsuit was filed? Yes. I'm going to say approximately the summer
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
U
Q. Have you communicated by Facebook or social media with any current employees of Uncle Bubbas Seafood & Oyster House? A. Not in over a year.
Q. I believe you told me you had communicated by text with Mr. Will Fraser? A. Yes.
Q. Did you communicate by text with any other current employee of Uncle Bubba's? A. Yes.
10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
McDonald. Are you asking since the lawsuit was filed or in general? Q. Since -- let's do it this way, Since
August of 2010, have you communicated by text with any employee -A. Q. Yes. -- of Uncle Bubba's? And tell me the
names of those people. A. Melissa McCurry, Sandra Sikes, Stephanie Strachan, Deiphine Jones, John Hail, Martel Brown, Dean Brown, Walter Magnuson, and many, many employees texted me after that. Q. Okay. Since March of 2012 which employees
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
of Uncle BubbaTs Seafood have you communicated with by text? A. One with Will Fraser and Deiphine Jones. Q. You have alleged in your lawsuit an assault and battery by Mr. Hiers that took place at the restaurant on August 10 of 2010. Tell me about that if you would, please, ma k am. A. We were having a dinner for U. S. Foods. We were hosting a dinner. And there were several broker -- several brokers, other food vendors, sitting at the table. And we were having a conversation about business. I was sitting next to Julian De Fontaine. And Bubba walked in intoxicated, very intoxicated, and asked what the gentleman-across the table was talking to me about, was he offering me a job? And then he grabbed my face and kissed my face, and said, she's not going anywhere; she belongs to me. And the guy made a remark, oh, I see how it is, and I see why you have your job. You know, it was embarrassing and humiliating because we had had a good conversation up to that point about food costs, business, and it
70
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
he just did that to you. Q. A. You said the guy said, I see how that is? Yes.
Q. What guy? A. He was a restaurant owner from Dublin, Georgia Q. Was Mr. De Fontaine seated at the table? A. Yes, sir, he was sitting to my right. Q. Do you recall who else was at the table with Mr. De Fontaine? A. people. Q. Had Mr. Fliers been seated at that table? A. No, he walked in from outside the restaurant. He walked up on our conversation. Q. Who was present with Mr. Hiers? A. His girlfriend. I do not. I didn't know any of those
Q. Do you recall her name? A. I only know the first name, Sandy.
Q. Anybody else that was present with Mr. Hiers? A. No. And she wasn't present for that conversation. She sat at the bar and he walked over to speak to us.
71
1 2
Q.
to the table?
A. Well, when he saw us, she went ahead she sat at the bar and he continued to walk toward us. Q. Any other occasion, ma'am, when Mr. Hiers
3
4
5
6 7
put his hands on you in an offensive touching? A. Q. No. He's raised his finger. Tell me about that.
8 9 10
11
A. When he would become angry in an issue in the kitchen he would raise his finger up and yell. Q. Who would he yell at? A. Me, on occasion. He yelled at John Hall,
12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
All Bejaoui. Front house managers. It was many occasions that he did that. Q. You allege that Mr. Hiers would arrive and
pour a large Styrofoam cup full of whiskey. How many occasions did you see Mr. Hiers do that? A. Every day.
Q. Did he come in to work every day? A. When he was scheduled. Q. How many times a week would Mr. Hers come into the work place?
A.
72
I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
schedule. Q. So every day -A. In a white Styrofoam cup with his initials on it. Either he would pour it himself or he would
have the managers or bartenders do it. Q. What bartenders can you recall pouring alcohol for Bubba first thing in the morning? A. Q. A. Sandra Sikes, Kelly Finch. Sandra Sikes is a mar.ager? Yes ! sir.
Q. Anyone else? A. Melissa McCurry may have. I'm not sure. Or he would pour it himself. Q. Okay. You left Uncle Bubba's on
August 19, 2010, is the date of your resignation, correct, if that's the date of the letter? A. Correct.
73
1 2 3 4 5 6
A.
Q. What was the date that you last came in to work? A. I don't recall the last day. I don't
recall the date. Q. Did you work the preceding week before you left? A. Yes..
.7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. Did you contact anyone at Reverend Al Sharpton's office in an effort to help your case? MR. BILLIPS: Object to the form. You can answer. THE WITNESS: No, I did not contact him. BY MR. WITHERS:
Q.
74
I 2 3 4 5
Q. A Q.
A. He does case by case whenever he's called to perform rallies. He's independent. He doesn't work for Al Sharpton. He's a civil rights leader. Q. You talked with Mr. Allen about Uncle ubba's Seafood & Oyster House? A. We did.
I
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. You talked with Mr. Allen about Paula Deen? A. Q. Uncle Bubba's. Did you speak with anyone at Mr.
Sharpton' s office? A. Q. No. Did you tell anyone at Uncle Bubba's that
Q. Did you tell anyone at Uncle Bubba's to call anyone at Mr. Sharpton's office? A. No, I asked them did they want to talk to Marcus, not Al Sharpton's office. Q. Let's talk about Will Fraser. You
75
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Do you think you should be paid money as a result of the Big Will incident? MR. BILLIPS: Object to the form. THE WITNESS: It's not about money. It's about the way he was treated and told he had no civil rights. BY MR. WITHERS: Q. Do you think you should be paid money because of the Big Will incident? MR. BILLIPS: Object to the form. THE WITNESS: I don't know how to answer that. That's a jury's decision, not mine. BY MR. WITHERS: Q. Tell me what happened with respect to that incident. A. I was coming in on one of my days off to terminate an employee for making a comment towards a female employee. Mike Corner was the kitchen employee that made a comment. And when I got there I had the paperwork written up on my desk in the back office, not the kitchen office, and Bubba was there, and asked me what I was doing there. I told him. He became enraged. He took the file said, I'm going to take care of this
76
I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
a
myself. He went back and terminated Michael Corner. The next day or so Bubba found out that Will had witnessed the Michael Corner incident and
called Will into the office in front of staff to ask him what happened.
the other
And Will said, I would rather not say. And Bubba said, you're going to tell me what happened. And Will said, I really would rather not say, Bubba. And he said, I'm using the Fifth Amendment Right. I have civil rights. Bubba said, fuck your civil rights. You don't have civil rights. You work for me and my sister, Paula Deen. He shook Will so hard up against the wall. I told Bubba to let him go and stop, and Bubba was intoxicated that day. And then he yelled for Maria to ,come in there, Maria Brantley to come in there. She got to the door and she realized what was happening. She looked at me and said ! I'm not going in there. I'm scared of him. And I told her to just go away, go away. So the incident stopped and Big Will still wouldn't tell what he saw. Bubba stopped, looked at me and said, I've got to get out of this fucking place; my blood pressure is about to
12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
77
I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
explode. Bubba lefts Will came to me shaken up and said, oh, my God, I can't believe he did that to me. I said, that's not acceptable, I'm sorry. And then everyone in the kitchen knew. everyone in the kitchen. Maria saw it. Deiphine heard it, and Will was telling everyone what happened to him. And I called Karl, left a message. He wasn't there. So I called Jim Gerard because Martel and them were saying, we're going to call the NAACP, we're going to call the cops. He said, that's assault, he should be locked up. They were making a bill deal out of it, and it was a big deal because it was scary. I didn't know what else he was going to do to him. And a couple of days later Will came to me in the dry storage unit, closed the door behind him. He said, I can't work with him, I'm scared. Do you think he's going to do something to me? I said, Will, I've called Karl. I've called Jim. Just stay away from him and we'll find out what we can do. So Jim Gerard's answer to me on the phone He was telling
78
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
was that Paula was out of town on a cruise, that he will call Barry. In the mean time, have Bubba apologize to Will. And then he called back in like ten minutes and said, no, don't have Bubba apologize. We don't know what he may do to him. You can't predict what he'll do. I said, I called Barry. Barry said he
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
would speak for Paula, or he spoke with Paula. We'll pick him up in a limo -- Paula is going to arrange that -- drive him to the new house -- not the old one, the new thirteen million dollar house. Paula can massage him and make him feel important and this will go away. That's when I said, you've got to be kidding me, like this is a problem. And Jim said, well, I agree with you, but let me wait until Paula gets back and we're going to take care of it. He said, in the meantime just keep Bubba away from Will. He said, I'll call Eubba and talk to him. So that was that. And I never heard anything else about how they were going remedy it. Like Karl knew about it. They just wanted to ignore it just like they had done with Dustin and the Ray incident. They were going to
79
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
ignore it, is what they were going to do, and try to tell him it was okay, when it wasn't, okay because people were scared. It's not the first incident he's done that, and we didn't know that it would be the last.
Q.
just going to ask some questions to follow up. When did you first come to understand that there was a confrontation between Mr. Corner --
10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. You were present when what? A. When l3ubba terminated Michael. I was not present when the comments were made. Q. When did you first become aware that Mike Corner had made inappropriate comments to a female employee at Uncle Buba's? A. When Terrica Overstreet, the female, said that she filed a complaint or she actually said something to me. I said, put it in writing, file a complaint, and we'll put it in your file, and I'm going to deal with it. I was off the next day. said that I will take care of it. I think I spoke with the other managers
1 2 3 4 5 6
about terminating Michael. And that's the first time I was aware of it. Q. Okay. So on the day of Mike's offensive comment -- is it Terrica? A. Q. To Terrica. -- to Terrica, you told her, Terrica, to
.7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
put the complaint in her file? A. No, I asked her to have a written
complaint so that we could investigate it, and I would place it in her file and we would investigate it with Michael. Q. Okay.
A. But he admitted to saying it when I asked him, so he was going to be terminated. Q. Okay. And so you tell Terrica to put it in her file? A. We're going to put it in her file. She
needed to fill it out and we would place it in her file. Q. And do you recall what day that occurred
On?
MR. BILLIPS: Object to the form. THE WITNESS: No. BY MR. WITHERS: Q. And then what was the next action you took
81
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
25
with respect to that? A. The next action was to call Mike in and question him and question the witnesses -- which were Will and other -- several other people I cant remember -- and they all confirmed that it was said. Even Michael admitted that he said it.
Q. A.
Q.
A.
. And then is it the following day that you come in on your day off to -A. Q.
A.
happened, and I was off on a Thursday. And I spoke with Terrica on the phone from home because she called me saying that she couldn't work with Michael. That's when I was aware of the situation, was on the Thursday, the day after it happened. And so I advised her -- I wasn't there -I said, fill out your paperwork, your complaint,
[:P
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
20
and when I get in first thing in the morning I will address it. Q. A. Uh-huh. So I did, the first thing. And Michael
admitted to -- I called him in the kitchen office and I asked him what happened, and he told me that he did it. Q. And what did he say he did? A. He called her -- I think he - I believe he said he called her a black monkey. Q. Okay.
A. And then he made a sexual remark to her. He called her an ugly lesbian or -- I don't remember exactly what he said, but he made several remarks to her on the line in front of the other employees. Q. And then on the day that you're off, do you recall what day of the week that would be? It would be a Friday? A. That would have been a Friday.
Q. On that Friday you came in and -A.. Yes.
21 22 23 24 25
Q. A.
1 2 3 4 5 6
interviewed the other members of Uncle Bubbas, the employees who witnessed this incident? A. Yes.
Q. And those individuals that you spoke to were whom? A. I believe Deiphine Jones. But Michael admitted it first thing, so 1 didn't have to speak
.7
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
A. And -- Deiphine Jones and Will Brown Will Fraser, Will Fraser. Q. So the people that you would have interviewed would have been Michael Corner? A. Uh-huh. Q. Will Fraser? A. And Deiphine.
Q. And Deiphine. Would you also have interviewed Terrica? A. Yes, I did.
Q. When you were conducting those interviews, was Bubba Riers present?
1 2 3 4 5
A.
No.
Q. When you were conducting those interviews, did Bubba Filers know of the complaint? A. I'm not sure.
Q. When did Bubba Fliers first become aware of Hike Comers offensive comments to Terrica? A. I'm not sure.
6
7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. When did Bubba hers come into the office and confront Big Will then? A. It was the following week after Michael was terminated. Q. And so several days had passed between the date of your termination of Michael Corner and Bubba Hiers' incident with Big Will then? A. Yes,
Q. And you have alleged in your lawsuit that Btthba was somehow unhappy because you had terminated the one white employee working in the kitchen? A. Yes, he made that comment.
Q. And so that was what -- or strike that. What was it, since you had already terminated Mr. Corner -A. Actually, can I correct you? I didn't terminate Mr. Corner; Bubba did.
MR
1 2
3
Q.
Hiers didn't find out about the situation until several days later. A. No. I said I didn't know when Bubba found out about the situation. Q. The incident with Big Will occurs several
4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. And I thought you had told me that you had terminated Mr. Corner as soon as he admitted to.you committing this offensive conduct? A. Well, he did admit to me that morning and I had his paperwork to terminate him. But Bubba became in a violent rage, grabbed his file, walked into the kitchen, terminated him. They had words and I was present. But I had planned to terminate him, but Bubba took that over and then Michael became enraged, calling the health department and it turned into having us close down that night. Q. I'm confused. I thought you just
described for me that your investigation of the Mike Coiner/Terrica situation occurred on a Friday. A. No, it occurred on a Wednesday. I believe a Tuesday or Wednesday. She called -- no, the
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
She
A. And I told her I would investigate it first thing Friday morning. Q. A. On Friday, right. I did come in, spoke to Michael, had
everything written up. I mean, it was quick. He admitted that he did it. But then Bubba walked in and saw the file folder there with the information on it and went into a rage and grabbed the file folder and said, I'm going to terminate him. And I followed him back to the kitchen office and he terminated Michael. Q. All right. The actual confrontation, as you have described it, between Bubba and Big Will, you had previously said didn't occur until the following week. A. Correct.
Q. And that's when he was speaking with not only Big Will, but I believe you said Maria -A. Q. Maria Brantley. -- as well?
87
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
A.
scared to come into the office. Q. Okay. And had you spoken to -- I thought
Deiphine or Will, both of -- I know Will, and they said, yes, he did it. And that was it. It was a matter of five minutes. I knew what I had to do and... Q. Okay. So the first -- the first kind of
round of speaking to people occurs with you? A. I'm not sure. MR. BILLIPS: Objection to form. BY MR. WITHERS: Q. You spoke with -- let me just make sure the record is clear -- with Mike Corner, Will Fraser, Deiphine Jones, and Terrica? A. Yes. MB.. WITHERS: Let's get this marked if we
M .
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
can, please.
BY MR. WITHERS: Q. Ma'am, you have in front of you there Defendant's Exhibit 1; do you not? A. Q. Yes Okay. If you would turn -- this is I will Terrica
8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Overstreet's file. If you would turn to the back page. At the bottom it's stamped T00004? A. Q. A. Q. Uh-huh. That's a yes? Yes. Do you recognize that document as the
Q. All right. Do you recognize that document as Terricas report that an offensive comment had been made to her by Mike? A. Yes.
Q. And if you would -- apparently that document was drafted do you see the initials
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
A.
Yes,
Q. Whose initials are those? A. Q. It looks like Sandra Sikes. Okay. This document is signed by Terrica
Q. And it says that Terrica reported that Mike said if she can stand around for an hour and not work, that she could -- and then there is an offensive comment; is there not? A. Yes.
Q. And I won 1 t repeat that for the record, but it's there for the record. You see that; do you not? A. Yes.
Q. And then right underneath that there is the date 7/26 - Tuesday? A. Q. A. Q. Yes. Do you see that? Yes. All right. So it would look like then,
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
was authored either on the 27th or the 26th, correct? A. Correct. MR. BILLIPS: Objection to the form, lack of foundation. BY MR. WITHERS: Q. Al]. right. And when you were talking earlier, ma'am, about telling somebody -- I think you said you told Terrica -- to write it up and put it in the file -A. Q. Correct. -- is this document, Defendant's
Exhibit 1, rage 4, what you were looking for Terrica to tell you, that is, what, you know, describe what happened? A. Q. Correct. And then if that occurred either on a
Tuesday or Wednesday, you said that you spoke with Terrica on a Thursday, correct? A. Correct,
Q. And on Thursday what Terrica was concerned about, was it not, was that Mike Corner was back working, correct? MR. BILLIPS: Object to the form. THE WITNESS: She asked me what was going
91
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
to happen to him.
BY MR. WITHERS:
Q. She told you she didn't want him working because of the nature of his comments, A. Q. Correct. That would be a fairly serious offense for
correct?
one employee to tell another employee, what she has described, correct? MR. BILLIPS: Object to the form. THE WITNESS: Ask that again. BY MR WITHERS: Q. That would be a fairly serious thing to happen, for one employee to say to another employee what is described in the exhibit that you're holding in your hand, correct? A. Yes.
Q. That's the type of thing as a general manager you would want to address quickly, correct? A. Q. A. Correct. An firmly, correct? Correct.
Q. But apparently we continue until Friday before you show up on the scene to take care of things; is that right?
MR. BILLIE'S: Object to the form,
92
I 2 3
argumentative. THE WITNESS: I wasn't aware of this form. I had no idea that Sandra had her fill a statement. I spoke to Terrica and told her what I wanted her to do. And that was on Wednesday. So I had no idea that she spoke to Sandra about this. Sandra never mentioned this to me. BY MR. WITHERS: Q. Okay.
4
5 6 7 8
9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
A. Because when it happens, I deal with it immediately. I would never have let that go on. Q. Right. If Terrica had informed you what had occurred on Tuesday or Wednesday, you would have dealt with that immediately; fair to say? A. Fair to say.
Q. All right. And then you come in however on a Friday, correct? A. Well, Michael was oft on Thursday. Q. You come in on Friday -A. Q. A. Thursday. Q. All right.
Correct.
-- correct? Correct. Terrica and Michael were off on
A. So I did address that with her and state to her, I will be there when you're both there and deal with this first thing, and I did. I was never made. aware by Sandra Sikes that Terrica had spoken with her about this.
2 :3
4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
MR. WITHERS: If can I get this marked, please. THE WITNESS: Because bad I been, I would have been there dealing with this the day after. MR. WITHERS: Let's go ahead and take a break.
BY MR. WITHERS Q. Ms. Jackson, we are back on the record and you continue to be under oath. The date of the Big Will incident, did you get physically shaken by Bubba Hiers? Did he put his hands on you in other words and shake you? A. Q. No. Did Bubba Hiers tell you that you didn't
94
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 I 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
A. Q.
Mr. Hiers put his hands on Big Will, not you? Do I have that accurate? A. Q. He did. If I understand correctly, it's your
allegation that Mr. Hiers said to Big Will that it was Big Will that did not have any civil rights, not you; do I have an accurate? A. Q. ma'am? A. But that statement alone is -- I took that He did say it to Big Will, but... Now -- I'm sorry, did I interrupt you,
as I have so civil rights as well. Q. All right. Now, getting back to the issue of when you found out about this. I believe you told us that you found out about it on Wednesday, correct? MR. BILLIPS: Object to the form. THE WITNESS: Which incident? BY MR. WITHERS: Q. We're talking about the Big Will incident
with respect to what Mike Corner said to Terrica Overstreet. Did you find out about that on Wednesday? -
95
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
MR. BILLIPS Object to the form, mizcharacterizing and misstating her testimony. THE WITNESS: I don't remember the day, the exact day. BY MR. WITHERS:
Q.
incident? A. Terrica.
II
12 13 14 15 16 11 lB 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. You would agree with me that what Terrica has written here would be a serious matter in the workplace, correct? A. I don't believe Terrica wrote this. This
looks like Sandra's handwriting and Terrica signed it. Q. Okay. What is written in front of you,
whether written by Terrica or Sandra, would that in your view be a serious matter in the workplace? A. Yes.
I 2 3 4 5 6 7
Q. Would that in your view be the responsibility -- the general manager's responsibility to handle? A. Yes.
Q. And would it be in your view the responsibility of the general manager to handle quickly? A. Yes.
9 10 11 12 13 14
BY MR. WITHERS:
Q.
15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
second to last page -- excuse me -- the last page, MC 0006. A. Q. Yes. That's a termination or separation notice,
I 2 3 4 5 6
Q. That separation notice is signed by you dated 7/30 of 2010; is that accurate? A. Correct.
Q. And I will represent to you, ma.am , that that was a Friday. You recall that that as being Friday; do you not? A. Ido.
7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 11 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. And that you recall Mr. Hiers being present at the termination of Mr. Corner; do you not? A. Yes.
Q. And so looking at this document now, it appears that Mr. Comer's last work day was July 30, 2010, correct? A. Q. correct? A. Q. Correct. And so on that Friday Mr. Coiner was Correct. That's the Friday that you came in,
Q. Not the following week, correct? He was terminated that Friday, the day of the -- the day that you came in to the office, correct? A Correct.
I 2 3 4 5 6
Q. A.
presented the separation notice to Mr. Corner, Mr. Carrier refused to take the notice, didn't he?
MR. ILLIPS: Objection to form.
7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
THE WITNESS: I didn't present that to him. Bubba did. BY MR. WITHERS: Q. All right. Do you recall Mr. Corner
refusing to take the notice? A. Q. Yes. There we go. When you just said -- by the
way -- you didn't present it to him, you were present, weren't you? A. I was.
Q. Of course you understand the importance of your oath here when you're testifying -A. Q. A. Ida. do you not? Yes. MR. BILLIPS: Let me know when you're finished with those documents or these issues because I have an objection I want to put on the record.
W
O
I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
MR. WITHERS: Oh, you can go ahead. MR. ILLIPS: Okay. The document you've produced to us regarding Terrica Overstreet has at the top, July 27, 2010, which you have represented to the witness being the date that it appears to have been created. Below that it
15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
0
MR. WITHERS: And foundational objections are not objections to form. So let's -MR. BILLIPS; Well, the document is not a question. And I'm objecting to the extent you might seek to introduce this document in support of a motion through this deposition, I'm objecting on the basis that this document
25
100
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
inaccurate information.
You seem to have laid great importance with the amount of time between the report of
the event and the termination of Mr. Corner. R. WITHERS: Are you finished? MR. BILLIS: So I think it's important that we establish -MR. WITHERS: This ain't my first rodeo, my friend. I know how to lay a foundation. All objections except as to form are reserved. Do you understand that? MR. BILLIPS: Yes, I do, and we're entitled to make them as we go along. We do not have to. We reserve the right to make them later. BY MR. WITHERS: Q. By the way, when did you decide that you were going to leave Uncle Bubba's? A. Q The week before I left. When did you first contact counsel
regarding your employment status? MR. BILLIPS: Object to the form to the extent you're asking her about conversations with counsel.
101
1 2 3
4
MR. WITHERS: I'm not asking about a conversation. BY MR. WITHERS: Q. When did you first contact counsel about your employment status at Uncle Bubba's? A. I don't remember the exact time.
5
6 7
B 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. Tell me about the daily logbook that was kept at Uncle Bubba's.
A. Numbers. Any information we needed to communicate with -- between the managers. Q. All right. And you would record whatever important information you thought was relevant in that daily log book; would you not? A. We were supposed to, yes. MR. WITHERS: Let's mark that.
102
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
n
7/14/2010.
A.
Yes,.
Q. Is that your handwriting about Tony and Deiphine getting into a screaming match? A. Yes.
Q. And you write: I'm buying three - I'm buying time, three more weeks, and that's it do you not? A. Q. Yes. They just don't care about the coxupany,
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. The "I'm buying time, three more weeks and that's It' , , that refers to the fact that you're going to be at Uncle Bubba's for three more weeks, correct? A. Not correct.
Q. What does that refer to? A. That we will go into our slow season and reduce the labor pool in the kitchen. Q. Don't you say: "I'm buying time, three
more weeks and that's it"? A. I do say that, but that's not it was
103
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 1'7 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. A.
Q. August 18 would be the beginning of the slow season; is that what you said? A. Q. Correct. Okay. It's your testimony then, from
Q. When you write: "They just don't care about the company, only themselves", who is the "they" you're referring to? A. Deiphine and Tony.
Q. Now, two weeks later you write: "Just two more weeks of attitudes", correct?
MR. BILLIPS: Objection. Show her the
document first. MR. WITHERS; Well, I don't have to show her the document. I can ask her a question. She can either remember it or not. MR. BILLIPS: Well, I object to the form of the question because you've laid no adequate predicate for your question; where did she
104
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
write, in what, et cetera. So if you want to show her document, ask her what she wrote. MR. WITHERS: This isn't the way it
okay? You don't get to lecture me about what I'm supposed to do. You make an objection and that's t. MR. BILLIPS: Counsel, if 1 make an objection -MR. WITHERS: You make and objection and that's it.
12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
MR. BILLIPS: If I make an objection and you respond to it, I'll respond to you to the extent I deem necessary, all right? This is not my first rodeo either. MR. WITHERS: Let's get that marked, please.
21 22 23 24 25
BY MR. WITHERS: Q. Do you have an exhibit in front of you, ma ' am? A. Q. Yes. Identify that exhibit for the record,
105
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. What number is that exhibit? A. Q. D-4. Let's go back to Exhibit D-3 for a second.
Do you have that one in front of you? A. Q. correct? A. Q. correct? A. Correct. Correct. You're talking about their bad attitudes, Yes. You're talking about Deiphine and Tony,
Q. Now, you have just told us under your oath that that refers to the slow summer season which you have written there, correct? A. Q. A Q. Correct. Deiphine -Not summer season, August. Slow August season after the summer.
Deiphine doesn't quit working in August, does she? A. We may reduce her hours. Q. does she? A. I have no idea if she did. Deiphine doesn't quit working in August,
106
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q.
whether Deiphine Jones, someone you have communicated with continuously since you've left, continued to work during the slow season or not? You can't recall that? A. No, I don't.
Q. All right. Do you recall whether Tony Jones continued to work there? Tony Cole, excuse me. A. Q. I don't know when Tony Cole left. All right. Well, we do know this,
Deiphine and Tony were not itinerant workers, seasonal workers, were they? A. All the kitchen employees were seasonal workers. All of the employees and managers were seasonal except for me. Q. Did you expect in August that Delph.ine
Jones would leave the employment of Uncle Bubba's? A. No. We would reduce her hours.
Q, All right. So Delphine wasn't going anywhere on August 18th, 2010, was she? A. I have no idea.
107
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
You just don't remember that now, do you? No, I have no idea. Let's look at Exhibit 4 in front of you. Okay.
A. Q. A.
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. And is that your writing there at top of the page? A. Yes, sir.
Q. And you write: "Just two more weeks of attitude", correct? A. Correct.
108
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
U
Q. Did you ever buy a three-tiered plate stand that was supposed to be used at Uncle ubba' a? A. . home? A. Yes. Yes. Did you take that three-tiered plate stand
Q. When did you return it to Uncle Bubba's? A. I don't remember the exact date r but when
we had an event that we needed it for. Q. How long did that three-tiered plate stand 2tay at your residence? A. I don't recall.
Q. Well, did it stay there for two months, ten months, or twenty months?
A.
next -- they had their next event and needed to use the stand, but I don't recall when the next event was. Q. What event would have taken place to cause you to have returned that plate stand? A. A wedding, any type of event that we had at Bubba's, a tour.
21 22 23 24 25
109
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
C
Q.
plate stand would have been returned to Uncle Bubba' s? A. Q. Yes. Was that plate stand at your residence, at
the residence of you and Ms. Suinmerlin in the spring of 2010? A. Q. Yes, Do you recall approximately when -- or
strike that. Do you recall the event for which you returned that plate stand? A. Q. I do not recall the specific event. In May of 2010 would that plate stand have
14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. Did you purchase an iMAC computer for use with Uncle Bubba's? A. Q. funds? A. I did. I did. Did you purchase that with Uncle Bubba
Q. Did you take that iMAC computer to your residence? A. Yes, under direction of Karl Schumacher.
110
1 2
1,
Q. How long did that IMAC computer stay at your residence? A. It in a box in my closet to this day.
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
0. Did you think that was appropriate, to keep that IMAC computer upon your termination from Uncle Bubba's -- excuse me, upon your resignation from Uncle Bubba s? A. I didn't go back to Uncle Bubba's after
that. I didn't use the computer. Q. Was that computer set up at your residence in 2010 for use at home? A. That was a computer that I used for work and home. Q. Did you think that it was acceptable for
you to transport that computer from your Savannah to your residence in Atlanta after you had resigned from Uncle Bubba's? A. Q. Yes. And why is that?
A. Because lightening struck the computer and I paid to have it rebuilt. Q. Where did you pay to have that computer rebuilt? A. The computer store next to Best Buy here in Savannah.
111
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 S 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
purchased the computer and I made Karl aware of that lightening struck the computer. And he said, Just go get another one then. And I didn't get an fl4AC, I replaced one, and we purchased another one for the kitchen office. I didn't replace the iMAC. But I needed the iMAC because I was asked to do photo shop and various projects for Uncle Bubb&s and Paula Deen by Karl Schumacher. Q. Okay. What projects did Mr. Schumacher have you doing for Uncle Bubba's and Paula Ijeen? A. Menus, marketing, photo food shoots for Paula Deen. I worked with Michelle White. Reports. There were many, many projects I did. Q. And so if I understand you correctly then, shortly after you purchased the Uncle BubbaTs iMAC you had to get that repaired? A. Rebuilt
Q. Rebuilt. And that you had that done with your own funds? A. I did.
112
1 2 3 4 S 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. And he authorized you to maintain possession of that? A. He said that he didn't care what happened to it because it was no good. But I did need to continue to do projects for Karl and we could only do photo shop on the MAC, so I just repaired it, it was -- I needed it. Q. How long did you continue to use that iMAC then? A. For the entire time I worked there.
corresponded with Karl and -- after that. Q. When Mr. Schumacher told you that it you okay for you to continue to maintain possession of the iMAC, was that a conversation you had with him in person, on the phone? A. In person.
Q. Did you provide him with the receipt representing the amount that you had paid for the rebuild of that computer? A. No. He said he didn't care, it was no
good to him. Q. And then you purchased a Nikon camera D40, did you not?
113
:1. 2 3 4 5 6
.
A.
Q. What was the amount that you paid for that Nikon at the time it was purchased? A. Q. I really don't recall. Did you think that it was appropriate for
8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
you to maintain that camera upon your resignation. from Uncle Bubba's? A. No.
Q. What do you plan on doing with it? A. Q. A. I don't have the camera. You said gave it to Mr. Woolf. I did. I wasn't going to bring it back to
Uncle Bubba's. I turned it in. Q. Okay. Did you ever pay personal expenses through Uncle Bubba's? A. Q. Never. Did you ever pay a personal utility bill
Q. Did you ever have any employees of Uncle Bubba's do work at your residence? A. Yes.
Case 4:12-cv-00139-WTM-GRS Document 176-1 Filed 05/15/13 Page 114 of 281 Case 4:12-cv-00139-WTM-GRS Document 101-1 *SEALED* Filed 03101/13 Page 114 of 281
114
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
A.
Gene Jones.
Q. And what work did Hungry do at your residence? A. He painted and.he did -- cleaned my yard up one time. Q. And who else helped Hungry clean your yard? A. Tony Cole.
Q. Did you seek reimbursement for that cash through Uncle Bubbas? A. No, I did not. I actually didn't pay them. My partner paid them from her bank account. Q. And she paid them from her bank account with cash? A. Yeah, She went to the ATM.
Q. You recall that? A. I remember she had to take them home and she stopped at the ATM to pay them. Q. Did you ever take petty cash from Uncle Bubb&s and make managers refund money to petty cash? A. I never took anything from Uncle Bubba's.
115
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. Mr. Schumacher authorized that? A. Q. He did. Did Ms. Surnmerlin have her cell phone bill
with your phone? Did Ms. S'uixnrnerlin and you have the same phone plan? A. We did.
Q. Did you seek reimbursement from Uncle Bubba's for Ms. Summerlin's phone? A. I had one plan before I ever met Cilia.
It was same number. And I asked Karl, and his comments was, don't worry about it; Dustin gets way more than that. You deserve it. Q. Did you seek reimbursement from Uncle Bubba's for Ms. Suntrnerlin's cell phone? A. Q. Yes. It was my plan. Did you ever forge Bu.bba Hiers' name to
any Uncle Bubb&s check? A. If he asked me to sign a check if he wasn't there and we had a liquor order or -- but, no, I did not other than that. Q. Back to the allegations in the complaint for a minute. You allege that -- you received bonuses for approximately six months, but those
116
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
bonus payments were withdrawn by Mr. Schumacher immediately upon your divorce. Is that accurate? A. Q. I can't recall the numbers. Do you recall -- didn't you tell me your
2007. The divorce was finalized in 2007? I filed in 1 07. It was final in '08. All right. I thought you had said early
Q. - A. Q. A.
Q. That would be after your divorce ? correct? MR. BILLIPS: Object to the form BY MR. WITHERS; Q. Let me ask you it this way, ma'am. If
22
23 24 25
your divorce was finalized in early 2008 as you have testified to, the documents reflects that you received a $4,000 bonus April 28th of 2008. And
117
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
I'll just represent that to you. That's what the document reflect. A. Okay.
Q. That would be after your divorce, correct? A. Q. I need to look at the dates. All right. May 18th, 2008, $4,000. That
would be after your divorce. I'll tell you what, I'll come back to that. You allege in your charge for discrimination that's attached to your lawsuit that Mr. Schumacher discriminated again you because of your religious views? Yes? A. Q. A. Yes. You're aware of that, are you not? Yes.
Q. Tell inc how Mr. Schumacher discriminated against you because of your religious views. A. His comments that he believed that his religion was the only way and that his standard of morals were the only way and he made clear constantly about his morals and how he believed that his way was the way. Q. Okay. Did Mr. Bubba Hiers ever express to
plu
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 :1.7 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
A.
Q. You allege that in that charge of discrimination that you subscribe to the religion of Buddhism. Had you discussed that with Mr. Schumacher? A. Yes.
Q. And did you attend a Buddhist temple here many Savannah, Chatham County? A. Q A. Yes. And where was that? Not regularly.
Q. Where was that, excuse me? A. On -- behind the pink house. It was just
a place that they used the spaced. Q. And what was name of that organization that met there? A. It wasn't an organization. It was Cindy
Beach. Show was Buddhist leader. So I would go attend with her, meditation, things like that. Q. A. Okay. So it wasn't an organization per
Se,
but
she was Buddhist and she was a guidance person, spiritual energy. Q. County? Does Ms. Beach live here in Chatham
Case 4:12-cv-00139-WTM-GRS Document 101-1 *SEALED* Filed 03/01/13 Page 119 of 281
119
1 2 3 4 5
A.
Q. What does she do for a living? A. I'm not sure, but I know she was a
spiritual advisor. Q. While I'm talking about Chatham County, do you have any relatives over the age of 18 that
7 8 9
to
reside in the counties in the southern district of Georgia? That would be Chatham, Bryant, Effingham and Liberty Counties. A. I do.
Li 12 13 :14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. And who are they? Who is that? A. My mother, my father, stepfather in Chatham County, and my partner's parents in Richmond Hill. Q. And your mother is Guffin, G-U-F-F-I--N? A. Yes.
Q. They live together? A. Q. They do. Your parent's parents, they live where?
120
1 2 3
live in that four-county area here in Southeast Georgia? A. No, sir. Other than Cindy Beach's gathering, did
4
5
Q.
you ever attend any church, social, civic, fraternal organizations here in Chatharn. County/Southeast Georgia? A. Q. No, sir. Do Mr. and Mrs. Guf fin go to any church
6 7
B 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
here in the Savannah area? A. Q. No, sir. How about Mr. and Mrs. BuJba Sumrnerlin, do
they go to any churches out in -- did you say Bryan County? A. Bryan County. They do.
Q. And what kind of work does he do? A. He owns Industrial Rubber Supply. Q. And where is that located? A. There are multiple locations. One is on
121
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 :1.8 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Bay Street. And then there is multiple locations. Q. employed? A. No. Okay. Does -- Ms. Diane Summerlin, is she
Q. Did Ms. Diane Summerlin work at the main office for Paula Deen Enterprises for a period of time? A. No.
Q. She never worked at a corporate office for any of the Enterprises? A. Q. A. Q. No. Not that Im aware of, no. Mr. Cuff in, is he retired? He is. So there are no other social, civic, Paula Deen, Lady & Sons, Paul Deen
fraternal organization that the Guffins would be members of to your knowledge? A. Not that I know of, no.
Q. We talked about some of the comments that Mr. fliers made that you found sexually offensive. Tell me about each occasion other than comments where you believe that you were subjected to sexual harassment by Mr. Hiers? MR. BILLIPS: Objection to the form of the question. I don't understand that
122
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
11
question. Could you rephrase it? By MR. WITHERS Q. Well, we had talked about comments that he had made that you found to be sexually offensive from a harassing standpoint. You recall that; do you not? A. There were so many I cant they
happened every clay. They happened at my exhusband's office. He made a comment to him one day. So it was constant. Q. I'm not making myself clear. We had
earlier talked about things that Bubba fliers had said to you or others that you found to be offensive, sexually harassing. Are you with me? A. Yes.
Q. Were there any things that he did, physical actions that he took that you found to be sexual harassment? A Yes.
21 22 23 24 25
A. Well, he would -- in the kitchen he was emulating having sex in front of the kitchen staff one day, dancing his dirt dance and grabbing his
123
1 2 3 4 5 6
7
crotch. Q. Okay.
A. Talking about masturbating. There is a lot. Q. The dirty dancing in the kitchen with the grabbing the crotch - and I'm not being crude, ma'am, when I repeat these things. I want you to understand. A. Right.
8
9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Q. -- when did that occasion -- when did that take place? A. I can't remember the exact date, but it
you sit here today? A. Q. A. Q. Yes. And tell me who that would have been.. Tony Cole, Martel Brown. Yes.
A. Maria Brantley. Tanya Hazel. And I can't remember the rest, but there were people in and out because it happened on multiple occasions. Q. Okay. And again I apologize for having to
21 22 23 24 25
ask you this question, but you said that he talked about or described masturbation. Tell me about
124
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
what that -- what occurred with respect to that. A. Stephanie Strong, the manager, came to me
and said that he had gotten a new phone and that he hadn't had as much fun with his phone as the night when he masturbated before. And then when he had his eye exam with my ex-husband he said his vision was probably had because he masturbated all the time. Q. Anything else that you can recall with respect to sexually harassing actions of Mr. Iliers? A. too many. Q. You talk about in your lawsuit, ma'am, Mr. I can't recall right now. There is just
Hiers and what you say were his frequent visits to the strip clubs. On how many occasions do you recall Mr. Hiers talking about going to a strip club? A. Multiple times. Q. And what would he say? A. Well, one time he said to me that you won't believe who I saw last night. I look up and someone asks if I'm Uncle Bubba and he said, I'll be damned if it weren't a server that worked here before dancing in front of me. Q. Yes. And what else did he tell you?
20 21 22 23 24 25
125
1 2 3 4 5 6
.
A. He just told me when he -- that he was to the strip clubs, that Adolphus Allen was going to take him to strip clubs. And Sandra Sikes cleaned his home, and would come in and report that she saw lipstick, and he had said he had been to strip club the night before -- in his bed -- and so he discussed it with her. He discussed it with me. There were multiple times. He asked me to go to the strip club with him one time, to get Adolphus Allen to pick me up and go. Q. And what did you say?
A.
8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 21 25
No.
Adolphus asked me next weekend, and I said, no, I'm not going. And he said, Come on, you're no fun, and. Q. You have also alleged that you would have to input into the computer expenses of Mr. Hiers' related to his strip club visits. Tell me about that. A. The expenses were put in according to Stephanie Strong for strip clubs. She made the comment to Karl that she was putting -- entering
126
I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 :17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
into QuickBooks his personal expenses and his strip club visits and -- she's the one that brought it to Karl's attention. Q. As you sit here, other than what Stephanie mentioned to you, I trust -A. Myself and Karl. She did mention it to me and Karl. Q. --- do you have any personal knowledge
regarding that fact? Did you enter into the uickBooks program any personal expenses of Mr.
present when she showed Karl the credit card receipt and she had it highlighted and told him that they were to strip clubs. And Carl acknowledged it, so I assume that Q. You allege that Mr. Fliers said that he'd
Q. Who did he say that to? A. It can't remember who was there. I
127
I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
believe it was Ellen bias that I had interviewed for a server that her background was at Hooters. And when Bubba saw her come in the door, he asked to see her application and he made a comment about it, and that's what he said, he said, We should just fill the whole restaurant with Hooters girls. And I believe Ellen buy is the one who overheard him say that. Q. And you allege a meeting between yourself, Mr. Schumacher, Jim Gerard, and Mr. Bubba Hiers for the purpose at addressing Mr. Hiers' sexual and racial concerns. When did that meeting take place? MR. BILLIPS: Object to the form. THE WITNESS:
I believe it took place in
l4arch or April of 2009. BY MR. WITHERS; Q. And where did that meeting take place? A. Here at Oliver manner gray.
Q. And you allege that in Mr. Gerard's office that Mr. Hiers says words to the effect, Don't tell me you're going to do that and deny it? A. He did.
Q. What else was discussed at that meeting? A. It was -- the meeting was about the EEOC
129
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 B 9 10 i-i 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
command and -- because I felt like that I was placed in the middle of those EEOC meeting between the staff. I felt like I had a good relationship with most of them. And we were to discuss Bubbas role, my role, and the treatment, I mean the way he -- you know, not -- for him to not come in drinking, no porn, just good attitude in the restaurant. Q. And when you talk -- I'm sorry, I didn't moan to interrupt. Go ahead. A. Q. A. No, that's all. I don't intend to do that. That's all.
Q. When you're talking about the EEOC claims, those were the EEOC claims filed by Ellen Buice and Katherine Olney any and Sandra al=ley? A. Correct.
Q. Now, those EEOC -- and Layne Thomas -A. Q. A. Layne. -- right? Correct.
Q. Now, those EEOC claims were focused not on Mr. Hiers' conduct, but on your conduct, were they not? A. My conduct, no. They were filed on age
25
129
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 S 9 10
discrimination and a hostile work environment, I believe, one.. And one was discrimination. Q. correct? A. Q. I don't remember exactly what hers was. You don't recall that Layne Thomas filed Right, And Layne Thomas' was retaliation,
an EEOC claim against you for retaliating again her for informing those three individuals that you were terminating them because of their age? MR. BILLIPS: Object to form, mischaracterizes. THE WITNESS: I didn't terminate them because of their age. She couldn't have informed them of that. BY MR. WITHERS: Q. Okay. Do you recall that the --those EEOC claims focused on your conduct and not the conduct of Mr. Fliers'? A. I was not present during those EEOC -- I
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
was present outside, but not in the EEOC meetings. Q. You went to at least one day of mediation for those EEOC mediations; did you not? A. Correct.
Q. And on the second day didn't you tell Mr. Gerard and Mr. Kiers that you couldn't participate
130
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
any longer because you didn't want to listen to the lies that were being told about you? A. Q. I don't remember our conversation. You don't recall crying to Mr. Hiers,
the bad things that these people were saying about you? A. They didn't say bad things about me in there. I do remember being upset because I didn't terminate any of those women and I felt that I was there not really knowing why they were filing those claims. Q. To your knowledge as you sit here today,
February 13, 2013, is it your testimony that you don't know why Ms. Walmsley filed her EEOC claim? A. Age discrimination.
Q. Are you telling me that's why she filed it? A. Q. That's what I believe. How about Ellen bias, why did she tile her
Q. And how about Katherine Olney, why did she file her claim? A. I don't remember.
131
1 2 3 4 5 6
1
Q. And who were they claiming had been discriminatory against them? A. My name was on it as general manager, but I didn't terminate any of those women. Q. And how about Layne Thomas, what was Layne Thomas' allegation to the best of your recollection? A. Layne Thomas may have been hostile work environment and discrimination over a bingo game. I believe that's what they were. MR. WITHERS: Okay. Let's go off the record for just one second.
8
9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16 1'7 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Mr. Hiers talking about women with flat heads. I won't get into the specifics, but who was present when that joke was told? A. Several managers. I don't remember who
exactly they were, but we were in the manager's office and the manager's office was full. I believe Melissa was present. Q. Do you recall anyone else?
Case 4:12-cv-00139-WTM-GRS Document 101-1 *SEALED* Filed 03/01113 Page 132 of 281
132
1 2 3 4 5 6
.7
A. Q.
No. I just recall the office was full. Now, earlier I had talked about racially
discriminatory words that Mr. Hiers had uttered. Tell me about each occasion that you feel you were racially discriminated against. A. Anytime he ever made a comment. Q. You thought that anytime that Mr. Hiers made a racially discriminatory comment that you yourself were being discriminated against? A. Yes.
8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. Were there any actions that that took place -- and, you know, we talked about words earlier -- any actions that took place from tr. FJiers that you found to be racially discriminatory or offensive? MR. BILLIPS Object to the form, asked and answered. THE WITNESS; All of the words he used to describe African-American people were offensive to me. BY MR. WITHERS: Q. And you found those offensive comments -or strike that. Was there any time that Mr. Fliers directed a racially discriminatory comment directly
133
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 B 9 10 U12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
at you?
A.
me a racial slur, no. MR. BILLIPS: Object to torn. BY MR. WITHERS: Q. We talked about earlier, ma'am, the occasions that family members and what have you came to Uncle Bubba' s. In November of 2009 did you have your partner's birthday party at Uncle ubba's? A. I don't recall that.
Q. Do you recall ever having a birthday party for Priscilla Summerliri at Uncle Bubba's Seafood & Oyster House? A. I don't recall that. or you
had actually mentioned earlier the doors, the doorways through which African-Americans could come in to the restaurant. Do you recall that? A. Q. Yes. Now, is it your testimony that
African-Americans were forbidden to use the front entrance of the restaurant? A. It's a policy -- it was a policy.
134
I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
you are aware of that was forbidden to use the front entrance. A. All African-Americans that worked at Uncle Bubbas. Q. Sc any African-American employee was at Uncle Bubba's was forbidden to use front entrance? A. Yes.
Q. Which doorway did white employees come in? A. The front door with the guests. Q. Which doorway did you come in? A. The back, the front, both.
Q. Whose policy was it? Who instituted that policy? A. I assume the corporation. certain
Q. Did you advocate that the workers use one door or the other? A.
A.
135
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 B 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
A.
statement I made that -- because it was big concern that it was segregated, so I said, They all have to enter/exit through the kitchen -- not exit., enter.
issue, isn't you true that it was Cilia that had her party for you at Uncle Bubba's? A. She did. And when would that have been?
Q. All right.
A. Q A. Maybe 2008. Excuse me? Maybe 2008.
136
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. A.
Q. You certainly didn't intend to under your watch have people discriminated against because of their race or color, did you? A. No,
Q. And you were the GM for all of these employees, weren't you? A. Correct.
Q. And you were the one who could either enforce or not enforce a policy, correct? MR. BILLIPS: Object to the form. THE WITNESS: Not ultimately, no. BY MR, WITHERS Q. Tell me about the bathrooms. How did that work? A. The bathrooms, it was made clear to me that Bubba didn't want to see them in the front bathrooms. Q. Why was that? And who are you -- when you say "them," tell me what you mean by that term, ma'am. A. He made clear that it was -- he made a
137
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
racial slur, so I knew it was the kitchen. He didn't want the black people using the front bathrooms with the customers. Q. Okay. And the folks in the kitchen when they are cooking food, they can have flour all over them, right? A. Yes, some of them.
Q. That would be a reason for employees using a bathroom that was not for the customers, correct?
10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
A.
Q. And tell me, when did that conversation take place? A. In the very beginning. It started in the
beginning that he didn't want the thugs out there in the front bathrooms. MR. WITHERS: And we are kind of at a stopping place, so if we can take a break now. Is that agreeable?
MR. BILLIPS: Sure. MR. WITHERS: All right.
21 22 23 24 25
BY MR. WITHERS: Q. Ms. Jackson, we are back on the record and (A recess was taken.
138
1 2
you continue to be under oath. Prior to leaving Uncle Bubba's in August of 2010 did you remove any papers, documents, items from the office? A. No.
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
II
Q. Any property of Uncle Bubba's that you removed and didn't return other than the camera? A. Didn't remove -- I mean didn't return? Q. That you removed, but didn't return, excuse me. A. The computer. Q. All right. Anything else? A. No.
12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. We were talking about the issue of the rest rooms and you have described for us I trust something of what I would call Jim Crow Era rest rooms; whites in the front, using the restroom in the front, blacks using the restrooi'n in the back. Is that what you've described for us? Is that fair? A. Q. A. Yes, it is. And did you ever author any memos to
139
I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. Did you ever reduce to writing an objection to that, in other words text, e-mail, letter? A. I don't recall.
Q. Well, it's something that you have told us that you found offensive in the extreme, did you not? A. Yes. -
Q. Let me -- excuse me. Let me tarn back, if I could, to the issue of your bonus pay in 2008. I'm going to hand you what will be marked as Defendant's Exhibit 5 that shows your pay history when you were at Uncle Bubba's.
BY MR. WITHERS:
Q.
You may not be familiar with that format, but does that seem to be an accurate reflection of your pay history over time while you were at Uncle Bubba's? MR. WOOLF: Take your time and look at it and read it all before you answer.
140
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
THE WITNESS; Okay. Yes. BY MR. WITHERS: Q. And -- so it reflects that you received $18,500.00 in bonuses in 200B; does it not? A. Q. Yes. For a total gross pay in 2008 of
Q. And you started out -- and that's in 2008 -- you started three years earlier making $7.00. an hour up at the top of the page under hostess. Do you see that? A. Correct.
Q. Was that your actual salary at that time, $7.00 per hour when you began? A. Yes.
BY HR. WITHERS Q. And I'm going to hand you what has been marked as Defendant's Exhibit 6. I just want to walk through these quickly with you. MR. WOOLF; Take your time. BY HR. WITHERS:
21 22 23 24 25
141
1 2 3
ci
Q. Again, you may not be familiar with the format, Ms. Jackson, but if you would look at the second segment, it reflects pay during -- or, excuse me -- the date 4/28 of 1 08 and a bonus of $4,000.00; does it riot? A. Yes.
4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. That would be after your divorce from Mr. Jackson, correct? MR. WOOLF: I believe its been asked and answered. Objection, asked and answered. THE WITNESS:
Yes.
BY MR. WITHERS: Q. So I have just handed you -- or Madam Court Reporter has just handed you Defendant's Exhibit 7, correct? A. Correct.
Q. And again in the middle paragraph it reflects a date of payment of 5/19 of 1 08, correct? A. Q. A. Correct. And a bonus of $4,000.00, correct? Correct.
142
1. 2 3 4 5
from Ir. Jackson, correct -- Dr. Jackson, excuse me, correct? A. Correct.
6 7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 1 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
BY MR. WITHERS: Q. The exhibit number that you have, ma'am, can you tell me what number that is? A. D-8.
Q. And again in the middle of that page there is a date paid of August 15, 2008, correct? A. Q. A. Correct. A bonus of $4,000.00, correct? Correct.
Q. And that would be again after your divorce from Dr. Jackson, correct? A. Correct.
THE WITNESS: Those were not paid for the month of August. He paid a month behind. I think the April payment was for March. BY MR. WITHERS:
143
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
Q.
A. Uh-huh. Once he was made aware, I did receive -MR. BILLIPS: Wait until he asks you a question. THE WITNESS Okay. BY MR. WITHERS: Q. Do you have Defendants Exhibit 9? A. Yes. -
Q. And again that's a payroll transaction detail. I'd like to draw your attention to the middle segment. It shows a date paid of 11/7 of 1 08, correct? A. Q. Correct. And bonus of $2,000.00, correct?
A.
Q. And once again that would be after your divorce from Dr. Jackson, true? A. Q. Correct. Now, did you ever play strike that.
Did you have Melissa McCurry over to your residence for a wedding shower? A. For her wedding shower? Q.
24
25
Yes.
144
I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 i:i 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
A.
Yes.
Q.
a game called something to the effect Dirty Pictionary? A. I'm not aware that they did.
Q. You don't remember that? A. No. I actually was in the kitchen most of the entire night. Q. You didn't participate in the play of a game called Dirty Pictionary? A. No.
Q. That doesn't ring a bell, that board game? A. Q. No, it doesn't. You don't recall anything that occurred
during the course of that evening with respect to a game called Dirty Pictionary? A. No. I recall everyone eating and bringing gifts. Q. Which bathroom did you use? A. Both.
Q. Turning back to the issue of the EEOC claims -- and I'm talking about the claims from Sandra Walmsley and Katherine Olney and Ellen Buice isn't it true that each of those women
145
1 2 3
4
5 6 7 8
not? A. I did.
Q. Who terminated them, if you did not terminate them? A. I have idea. I know Stephanie Strachan's
9
10 11 12 13
signature was on one of the women's? One quit, to my -- Sandra Walmsley I heard quit or gave her shifts away. Layne, it was a mutual.
Q. Well, Layne Thomas certainly didn't allege that it was mutual, did she? A. I was under the impression when she left
14
is
16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Didn't you tell her to get the 'F' out? Yes, I did.
A.
Q. But that's an appropriate way for a manager to speak to a subordinate employee, isn't it? A. No, but it was not appropriate what she said to me before that. Q. And you had addressed Layne Thomas specifically with respect to her providing
146
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 S 9 'U 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
U
information to employees regarding their EEOC rights; did you not. A. She said she did.
Q. Al]. right. And the result of which angered you; is that fair to say? A. She still was working for the company and she was talking to them, yes. Q. And what she was doing was A. It didn't anger me.
Q. Ma'am, you know, I will do my best to not talk and interrupt you. You cannot interrupt me because it simply won't work with the court reporter trying to take us both down at the same time. A. Q. All right. Isn't it true that you confronted Layne
Thomas about having provided those three women with information regarding their EEOC rights? A. Yes.
19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. And you were upset with Layne Thomas about her having advised those women of their rights pursuant to the EEOC -A. Q. A. No. -- isn't that fair to say? No, it's not fair to say.
147
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 'U 11
I,
Q.
advise those women of their rights under the EEOC not to be discriminated against; isn't that fair to say? A. did. Q. And so you would agree with me then that what Layne Thomas was doing was standing up for their rights of those EEOC claimants? That's fair to say, isn't it? A. were. Q. Tell me every time that you stood up for an African-American employee and told them how offended you were about this policy with respect to the front door versus the back door. A. Almost every day. Q. Tell me how many times you stood up for the rights of African-American employees with respect to which bathroom was supposed to be used by them. A. I would say- every day. I don't know what she -- her intentions She said she did. She stated that she
12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. The result of that then would be that the policy was not in effect if you were discounting
148
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
A.
policy, but it applied to certain people. Q. Now, you allege in this lawsuit that Bubba fliers had complained about African-American -- two African-American hostesses at the front of the restaurant -A. Yes.
Q. -- do you recall that? Tell me the names of those two women he complained about. A. I don't recall their names.
Q. Have you made any effort to determine their names? A. Q. No. In the lawsuit you talk about being
present at the office of a vendor -- or, excuse, at your office when Mr. fliers made a comment about putting all of the folks in the kitchen on a boat to Africa. Who was that vendor? A. Julian De Fontaine,
Q. And in those same paragraphs you allege in Paragraph 71-C about Mr. Hiers making a comment about an African-American security guard, you know, don't you wish you could rub all the black off of you? Who was that individual? A. Adolphus Allen.
149
1 2 3 '1 5 6
.
Q. You also make an allegation about Mr. Hiers making a comment about president Obama and
8 9 10 ii
for the second comment to the wildlife trapper. Q. And you also make an allegation about Mr. Hiers using a racial slur in front of a coordinator of a fundraising event at Bethesda Home For Boys. Who was that? A. I was told by Julie Bird that he made that
12 13 14 15 16 17 IS 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
comment, and she didn't feel comfortable being around him. Q. Were you present when that comment was made? A. I was not present.
Q. And then you make certain allegations regarding Mr. Schumacher and his addressing the President of the United States in a racially derogatory -- in a racial slur. When did that occur?
150
El
1 2 3 4 S 6 7 8
A.
Q.
seeing the picture of your father and saying, He looks like a -- and then the use of the N-word. When did that occur? A Somewhere in 2009. I don't remember the
exact date. Q. And tell me each occasion that racially discriminatory behavior at Uncle Bubba's, Lady &
10 ii 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24
A.
Every thy.
Q. And how was that? Tell me about that. A. The comments and the policies we were supposed to follow and...
Q.
testimony. Is it your testimony that if Bubba fliers uses a racial slur in your presence that that is racial discrimination against you; that's the way you take it? A. I take it as discrimination.
Q. But is it discrimination against you? Is that your testimony? A. Q. Yes. Okay. Because what I want to know, ma'am,
25
151
I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
ci
is every time this man here took a racially discriminatory action against you. Do you understand that? A. I understand that. There is no way I can
tell you how many times. It was -- it was every day. Q. I understand you told me that it happened
every day. What I want to know is when this mart here took racially discriminatory action against you, is what you're telling us that overhearing racial slurs is a discriminatory action against you? MR. WOOLF: I'm going to object. It's a compound question. I'd ask you to ask one at a time. BY MR WITHERS: Q. You can go ahead and answer. A. To which one?
Q. Is what you are telling us that when you overhear a racial slur that that is a discriminatory act against you? A. Yes.
Q. Other than that behavior, your presence at the making of the racial slur, was there any other racially discriminatory action taken against you?
25
152
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
A.
Yes.
Q.
Tell me that.
A. Being allowed to use the front bathroom when other people were not allowed to use them. Q. Okay. That's a -- so it's your testimony
then -- let's just make sure that this is clear that the policy with respect to the use of the restrooms was a racially discriminatory act against you? A. Yes, I do.
Q. Tell me what else. What other racially discriminatory act was taken against you by this man here? A. The door -MR. WOOLF: I'm going to object just because we've -- it has been asked and. answered to some extent earlier in the deposition but we can continue on and answer to the extent you can.
THE WITNESS: Y MR. WITHERS: Q. Anything else? A. The language, the jokes. All of it is
153
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. A.
Q. Thank you. Did Bubba Hiers or Uncle Babba's ever take an action against you because of your race? MR. WOOLF: Asked and answered. THE WITNESS Yes. BY MR. WITHERS: Q. Tell me that.
A. Because I was allowed to do things other people were not, so it is an act against me. Q. Okay. So -- and just so we draw that line, you're a white female, correct? A. t3h-huh.
Q. As a white female you were bestowed with certain benefits then that African-Americans did not have; is that accurate? A. Correct.
Q. And that bestowing of benefits upon you because of your status as a white female, then that was a racially discriminatory act against you? A. Q. Yes. Did Mr. Hiers or anyone in his company
ever take an action against you to deny you an opportunity in the workplace because of your race?
:1.54
A. Q.
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 :1.7 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
and tell me if I've got this right -- that you had certain opportunities as a result of your race, correct? A. I'm not sure.
Q. Well, let me ask it more specifically. It sounds to me, ma'am, what you are telling us is that you had certain opportunities because of your race that African-Americans did not have; is that accurate? A I'm not sure.
Q. What employees came to complain to you about Bubba Hiers' racially discriminatory conduct? A. Q. A. Q. A. Q. Will Fraser. Who else? Martel Brown. Who else? Gene Jones. Who else?
A. April McDonald. Q. A. Q. A. Who else? Tanya Hazel. Who else? John Hall. Ali Bejaoui.
155
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 B 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. Anyone else many? A. Many -- many, many others. Q. Well, ma'am, you know, we are here today
to hear what you have to say about that. A. I can't remember. There were so many I
the interrupt you. Other than those six names that you have given us today, you can't recall anyone else; is that fair to say? A. Q. you. A. That Bubba treated him like a slave and Not at this time. Now, Will Fraser, tell me what he told
then he was afraid of Bubba because of the way he treated him. Q. Anything else that Mr. Fraser said? A. There were daily comments by Will Fraser. Q. Anything else that you can recall? A. He did say one time that Bubba picks on me just because I'm a big black boy, and is he my master? Q. Anything else? A. That's all I can recall at this time.
156
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2]. 22 23 24 25
Bubba 'master' because Bubba used to call him 'boy' and that the white man. ruled at Bubba's. Q. Anything else that Martel told you? A. That he was afraid of Bubba. Q. Anything else? A. Q. It can't recall anything else. Gene Jones, Hungry, who worked with you,
A. That Paula Deem and Bubba were racist towards him and that Bubba used to pay the tip outs and the checks to the -- Donny and some of the white guys, and they would not pay him, would make him wait. And he complained to me about the bathroom. Q. A. Q. Anything else? That's all I can recall. Tanya, what did she say?
A. That Bubba was her master, and that's her quote, her master. Q. What did she say that Bubba had done in terms of discrimination against her? A. Well, she told me that he hit on her constantly. And she told me that she knew he was
157
asked.
2 3 4 5
Q. And All? A. Ali complained about the bathrooms, about the black staff that couldn't go up front, only if they were working on the grill. And just the overall attitude that Bubba had when he came into the kitchen with the staff. Q. Anything else that Ali said?
6 7
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 1 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
A.
Q. And what did you say to All? A. He actually came to eat at the restaurant I work at and didn't know that I worked at the restaurant. Q. And what did you say to Au? A. That it was good to see him and -- we didn't talk about the lawsuit at all. Q. Since you left Paula Deen's or, excuse
158
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
2010, tell me the employment you have held since that time. A. Cafe Intermezzo was the first, 2011,
January to October of 2011, Q. What did you do there? A. I was a corporate GM.
Q. Okay. Then what did you do? A. Then I went in with a friend, a it's a bakery --
Q. What months was that? A. of '12. Q. Then what did you do? A. Then I consulted for Highland Bakery. That was October of '11 through June
Q. Highland? A. Highland.
Q. What time frame was that? A. That was just temporary. It was July through the end of August. Q. Of 20127
159
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 ii 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
A.
Yes, sir.
Q. And then what did you do after that? A. I started working at Mary Mac's Tea Room.
Q. What did you start doing at Mary Mac's? A. Q. A. Q. General manager. And you're still there?
Yes,
sir.
employment recruiter for the purpose of trying to find a job since you left Uncle Bubba's in August of 2010? A. Yes.
Q. Who did you deal with there? A. Q. Joe Kelly. Did Mr. Kelly assist you in attaining
these positions? A. With Mary Mac's he did. Q. When did you first begin using TalentServed? A. I used them beginning June of 2012.
160
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
recruiter, what have you? A. 110, sir. I used Craig's List for my job
for Cafe Intermezzo. Q. Now, when you left Uncle Bubbals in August of 2010, what applications did you make for employment in the Savannah, Georgia, Chatham County, Georgia area?
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 1 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
A.
don't know how many. A lot. Q. And tell me the name of some of the places that you applied for a job. A. The Bohemian restaurant. Q. A. Yes. Wright Square Cafe. That's just a few.
And the rest I didn't know who they were they didn't list it on there. Just general manager jobs. Q. Did you ever get an interview at either
The Bohemian or Wright Square Cafe? A. I was offered one at Wright Square Cafe,
had to move to get a job, so I didn't Q. Well, that's what I'm trying to find out.
I
Case 4:12-cv-00139-WTM-GRS Document 176-1 Filed 05/15/13 Page 161 of 281
Case 4:12-cv-00139-WTM-GRS Document 101-1 *SEALED* Filed 03101/13 Page 161 of 281
161
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
A.
Yes.
Q. -- but I'm trying to find out how many different places you tried to get a job when you were here? A. I applied like I said for probably over a
hundred jobs and then was offered a job by Chip Caldwell at U. S. Foods until he found out about the lawsuit -- or that I left Bubba's and took that offer back. Q
A.
a
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
When did Chip Caldwell offer you a job? He offered me a job at the beginning of
September 2010. Q. position? A. No, I did not. He called me. Julian our Did you apply with U. S. Foods for a
food rep called him and said that I was no longer there. And he called me and said that he wanted me as a broker. He could place me as a broker that
next week. And I think the call was on the Friday and then he said, let me get things together and 1111 call you Monday and we'll get this started. And then Monday he called and said, look s I can't do it. And I asked him why and he said, you know why. Q. Okay. And where is Mr. Caldwell located?
162
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
A. Q. A.
I'm not sure at this time. Where was he located at the time? U. S. Foods, but I'm not sure where he was
located. I think he had moved districts. Q. You allege in your lawsuit that you complained to Jim Gerard, Karl Schumacher and Paula Deen about racially discriminatory conduct. How many occasions did you complain to Mr. Gerard?
A.
Q. About Bubba fliers and his racially discriminatory conduct? A. I may not have said that to him. I know Karl did, because the chain of command was to go through Karl. And then Karl did. He said that he did, and I'm sure that he
did because Jim Gerard would call me every week and
ask me how things were. Q. What number would Jim Gerard call you on? A. My cell phone. Q. And that number please? A. It's an old number.
163
1 2
Q. And Mr. Gerard when he was calling you, you were talking to him about racially discriminatory conduct of Mr. Hiers?
4 5 6 7 8 9 10 :ii 12 13 14 15 16 17 1 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
A. That and the sexual conduct and the hostile environment. Q. And I trust since you were having to overhear Mr. Schumacher make inappropriate comments
anyone else was present? A. Karl Schumacher was present. Q. And is that the meeting that you described here at Oliver Maner? A. Yes, sir.
164
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1.3 14
you recall authoring an e-mail to Mr. Gerard complaining about either Bubba Hiers or Karl Schumacher for racially inappropriate, sexually inappropriate comments or a hostile work environment? A. Q. Jim Gerard I did. You did author e-mails to Mr. Gerard?
A. Maybe not e-mail. I remember a phone call. Q. All right. And how many phone calls did you have with Mr. Gerard where you complained to him about racial discrimination? A. Q. I can't remember. Well, are we talking, you know, two, five s
15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
fifteen or fifty? A. Probably around five, no more than five. Q. Row many phone calls did you have with Mr. Gerard where you complained to him about sexually discriminatory conduct? A. Q. A. Q. They all were the same conversation. Okay. So five total then? Uh-huh. Phone calls with Mr. Gerard?
165
I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
A.
Q. Did you ever send Mr. Gerard any memoranda where you documented your complaints about Mr. hers or Mr. Schumacher? A. No. I wasn't asked to document. Karl
Q. Any other form of communication? A. Maybe e-mail, but that would be it. I don't recall, though. There were so many times, I
don't recall. Q.
Well, ma'am, that -- respectfully that
answer doesn't really make a lot of sense because what Fm asking you to do is name for me every item of evidence that demonstrates a complaint from you to Mr. Gerard. Phone, far, e-mail, instant
166
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1.1 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
A. No more than five. Karl Schumacher was my supervisor. He stated every conversation that we had almost daily that he was going to send the e-mails to Jim Gerard. Because I didn't want to go directly to Jim Gerard. Karl Schumacher would bring these up - to me and then rely the messages, I assume. He didn't copy me on those. Q. Now, so as you sit here today, February 13th --- February 11th, 2013, you do not have a single document that you can point to that is a communication from you to Mr. Gerard complaining about Mr. Hiers or Mr. Schumacher; is that fair to say? A. No.
Q. All right. What document do you have? A. I don't recall. We spoke about it, I
don't recall if there was an e-mail there was no text, but there would have been an e-mail, if any. I would have to look back. Q. And, you know, again I'm not trying to be difficult, but that's why we're here today. My question is: As you sit here today, do you recall
167
1 2 3 4 S 6 7 B
a single document, you know, a shred of paper that you can point to and say here is when I complained to Mr. Gerard about the offensiveness of Mr. fliers? MR. WOOLF: Asked and answered. Objection. THE WITNESS: I don't recall because most of that was dealt with through Karl. All of it was dealt with through Karl. I spoke with Jim on the phone, I do remember that. BY MR. WITHERS: Q. On how many occasions did you speak with Karl Schumacher about racial, sexual discrimination from Mr. Hiers to yourself? A. Daily.
9
10 ii 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. How many times did you document that communication from yourself to Mr. Schumacher? A. Q. A. I don't recall how many times Many. Did you ever -Yes.
Q. -- did you ever document your complaint about Bubba Hiers in writing to Mr. Schumacher, either regarding racial or sexual discrimination? A. Yes.
Q. And can you tell me when that was? A. Big Will. Will Fraser.
HIM
1 2 3 4 5 6
Q. How did you communicate with him on the Big Will incident, via e-mails? A. I called him first and then I sent an e-mail and then he drove there. And Karl was there almost every day so we talked every day. Q. You allege in your lawsuit that you and Mr. Gerard would speak on your personal phone regarding matters related to Uncle Bubba's? A. Yes, -
.7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Q. How many occasions do you recall that you and Mr. Gerard spoke about Uncle Bubba's generally? A. On the phone? Q. Uh-huh.
A. I would say no more than five times, Q. All right. Now, at one of the meetings that you had with Mr. Schumacher and Mr. Gerard at this law firm, you presented an alternative idea for the use of Uncle Bubba's, did you not? A Not at this meeting.
15 16 :1.7 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. All right. Now, at that meeting was there a discussion about a lesser role being advocated for Bubba fliers as a result of conversations between you and Mr. Schumacher? A. Karl did suggest that.
169
I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
I believe you said in spring of 2010 around then? MR. WOOLF: Asked and answered if she did say. You can answer. THE WITNESS: yes. BY MR. WITHERS: Q. And what was said, either by you or by Mr. Schumacher. about the role !1r. Hiers was to play? A. Mr. Schumacher said he was going to Paula and ask her to buy him out, to get him out of the restaurant. Q. And what else was said with respect to the continuing role Mr. Hiers would have? A. He told me that he was going to speak to Paula about it, and I believe this was 2009. It was the year of the EEOC filing, so -- but he said he was going to speak to Paula. And then he asked me to cone up with a use for Uncle Bubba's that would be profitable, work on the report, make it nice, don't say anything bad about Bubba because we can't get Paula to do it if we do that. And let's turn it into
something else.
Q. And so whose idea was it then that was advocating the kind of changing use of Uncle
170
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
a
Q. That idea did not originate with you? A. No. Karl Schumacher brought in a Martha Stewart --- something from Martha Stewart -- and said this is what would we should do, pattern this restaurant after. You have good ideas that way so I'm going to put that in your hands, you come up with a plan and let's get Bubba out of here. So we had another conversation on which direction he wanted to take that, what did he want to do with Uncle Bubba's, and he said he had no idea. He said, that's -- you know, you did a great job with the Bethesda Home charity event. Why don't we start holding charity events here. Why don't we start catering. So I worked on the idea and that's what I -- and then I came up with the letter and turned it in to Karl first. And he said this will be great. I'll set a meeting up with Paula. I did meet with Paula and Brandon and she loved the idea. And then the Big Will incident happened and it was just -- I didn't want any part of it anymore.
12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
171
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 B 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
BY MR. WITHERS: Q. Ma'am, you're being handed Exhibit 10. If you could, look at both pages of that document please. A. Uh-huh. MR. WOOLF: Please read it. THE WITNESS; Okay. BY MR. WITHERS: Q. If you would turn to the second page of Exhibit 10. You write to Mr. Schumacher -- and this e-mail is dated May 13, 2010, correct? A. Correct.
20 21 22 23 24 25
night thinking about an idea this year about a use for Uncle Buhba's, correct? A. Correct.
Q. That Bubba would still be involved, but if he would do what he knows how to do well, correct? A. Correct.
172
ii 2 3 4 5 6 7
Q. And that Paula would gain more local compassion for Paula. And then you write, the old Paula before she made to much money for the locals, correct? A. Correct.
Q. And then you tell him that you wont go into it now, but please make time for me this morning when you come out, I feel good about this
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
reverse order here and I don't know why that is -but Mr. Schumacher replies to you at 6:16 a.m., correct? A. Q. Correct. Now, the -- and he seems to be -- he makes
the comments that, you know, it's like getting a call on the bat phone -- I guess that's your personal e-mail address, correct? A. Yes.
Q. And he goes on at the bottom of the second paragraph talking about how the owners have gotten themselves in situations they think they need to maintain, but that's for another e-mail, correct? A. I don't recall what he's referring to
173
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. Uh-huh. And if you go on to the fourth paragraph, the first sentence, he says; I'm imagining that you want to change the focus of tJB, correct? A. Correct.
BY MR. WITHERS: ). All right And we're going to have to jump back and forth here and I don't know any other way to do it. You have in front of you now, ma'am,
Q. And if you would, look at the top of that Exhibit. It looks like there is a reply from you to Mr. Schumacher at 1056 a.m. that same morning, correct? A. Q. Yes.. Arid, again, I apologize for it being in
this order, but that's the way that we've got them. And your reply is: Well, when I said he would be involved I didn't mean in his current role, correct?
174
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
A.
Correct.
!'Ir. Schumacher a different role for Bubba, correct? A. No. In my previous e-mail I said that Bubba should remain there and be involved, and Karl
called me and said, no, I want him removed. Q. Uh-huh. But your --
e-mails. Q.
said he would be involved, I didn't mean in his current role. You're telling that he's going to be involved, but not in his current roll. That's what you're telling Mr. Schumacher, correct? A. That's what I'm saying, but Karl
Schumacher laid the ground work and asked me to come up with the plan. Q. All right. And then go back to Exhibit 10, top of the page, it's 11:00 -- or 11:03 a.m.; are you with me? Exhibit 10, top of the page, there is e-mail. A. Q. Okay, All right. The prior one was at 10:56.
175
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 i:i. 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
chronologically. Are you following me? A. Q. Ian. Okay. And in that one -- in that e-mail
you say: One last thing, I remember the first time I saw Paula's show. That's what you write? A. Q. Correct. Okay. I felt hope for once in my life.
Q. And then you go on about how she gives hope to people, women especially, to take control of their lives, Oprahlike, and we can capture that with my idea, correct? A. Correct.
Q. All right. Now -A. But these were ideas based on Karl's wants for Uncle Bubb&s. He laid the ground work and then he told me to come up with a plan. Q. Uh-huh. You don't say based upon your idea. You say based upon my idea? A. I'm responding back to Karl. He gave
me -- he told me what he wanted in the face-to-face meeting, and then just like he always did, it was -- he would lay ground work and then have me do, you know, come up with th plans or the -- but
176
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 B 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
it was always based on Karl's vision for what he saw for Uncle Bubba's. I just put the plans in place. He approved them. Q. Yes or no, you write: We can capture that with my idea, your words, correct? A. That was my idea based on what he asked me to do.
BY MR. WITHERS: Q. Take a gander at that Exhibit if you would, please, ma'am. MR. WITHERS: Let's just go off the record a minute while Mr. Franklin steps out.
MR. WITHERS: Why don't we just take five minutes. I can use a break.
177
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Exhibit 12, do you not, ma'am? A. Q. Ido. That's dated Tuesday -- at the bottom --
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. And the third line from the bottom talks about, I'm going to put Plan B in writing today; does it not? A. Yes.
Q. And that Plan B was going to be your letter to Paula Deen; is that accurate? MR. WOOLF: Object that it's just a vague question. I'm not sure what letter you're talking about. Don't guess. THE WITNESS: No, that is not. BY M. WITHERS: Q. All right. What does Plan B refer to? A. That means Plan B was to cut payroll and save money on labor. Q. Uh-huh. It's your testimony that Plan B had nothing to do with your new proposal to Paula Deen for the use of Uncle Bubba's?
178
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
9
A.
BY MR. WITHERS* Q. Ma'am, do you have in front of you what has been marked as Defendant's Exhibit 13?
A. Yes.
10 11
Q. Take a minute and review that for me, if you would, please. A. Q. Okay. Now, this Exhibit Number 13, that's a
12 13 14 15
letter from you to Paula Deen; is it not? A. Q. correct? A. Correct. Yes. That letter is dated May 27, 2010,
16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. And how was that letter delivered to Mrs. Paula Deen? A. It was delivered to Karl Schumacher upon
his request and then it was later delivered to Paula Been. Q. Okay. And who delivered it to Paula Deen --
179
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
A.
I did.
Q. - to your knowledge? Okay. And when did you deliver that to Mrs. Deen? A. I don't remember the date, but I know that I took it to her house. Karl called and asked me to take It over, and Brandon was there, and I went in there. Q. And you presented this letter to Mrs. Deen in person then? A. I did.
Q.
Q. It would have been shortly after that date then. Is that fair to say? MR. WOOLF: Asked and answered. THE WITNESS: May not because Karl was working on numbers. He also had other ideas that he wanted for the restaurant, so he just -- I mean, it may not have been. This was a process that he asked me to work on. BY MR. WITHERS: Q. Very good. Now, this letter you authored, these are youx words, correct? A. Yes.
16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Ow
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 lB 19 20 21 22
n
Q. And in other words, nobody told you what to say or how to say it? This is your authorship, fair to say? A. My partner actually authored it. Q. tjh--huh.
A. My partner did. Q it? A. Yes. Did you have a little input with her on
Q. And your partner, you're referring to Mrs. Priscilla Sunimerlin, correct? A. Correct.
Q. Now, the second paragraph -- by the way, this letter then would have been delivered to Mrs. Paula t)een within three months of your resignation from Uncle Bubba's, correct? A. Correct.
Q. Now, the second paragraph you talk about: And as you well know people appreciate you and respect you as a person, correct? A. Correct.
Q. And the personal struggles and stories you have to tell, correct? A. Q. That's what she stated. All right. Well, that's what you stated,
23 24 25
181
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
as well, isn't it, ma'am? I mean, are you trying to subscribe or tell me that these really aren't your words, that these are Priscilla Summerlin's words? A. No, they are my words, but that's -- I
said that's what Paul Deeri stated. Q. Okay. And the personal struggles, you're
talking about what in that respect? A. Which paragraph? Q. Bottom of the second paragraph, second to
the last sentence. A. Okay. Right here. Yes, that was written
struggles, correct?
A. Right.
Q. And you go on: That people want to know you and what you have had to go through to get where you are, correct? A. Q. Correct. In the third paragraph, ma'am, you write:
This is where my idea comes from. Again, the words my idea, correct? A. Correct. Based on Karl's vision.
182
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ii12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
A.
Right.
Q. And you go on in the next line r that at 15, homeless, without parents and with a young child, my life was headed in a direction no one could ever assume positive. That's what you wrote, correct? A. Correct.
Q. Where were you homeless? A. Without a home. Q. Where were you physically located? Were you physically homeless in the Conyers area?
A. Not in the Conyers area, no. Stone
183
1 2 3 4 5 6
U
Q.
Mr. and Mrs. Still abandoned you at age 15? A. They never were my parents. Q. They were your --
A. They abandoned me as a child. Q. They adopted you; they were your adoptive parents, correct? A. They adopted me. Q. Right At age 15 had Mr. and Mrs. Still
7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
U
Q. And your life was headed in a direction that no one could ever assume positive; all of that was true, correct? A. True.
Q. And then you write mercurius words: I had to do what I had to do to survive. What does that mean? A. I was working two, three jobs, found
20 21 22 23 24 25
babysitters with whoever I could find, survive and take care of my child. Q. And you write that: I was stuck in an unhappy marriage, correct?
184
A.
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Correct.
Q. And who is that unhappy marriage to? A. Anyone that I was married to. Q. You had an happy marriage to Mr. Weimer, did you? A. That was a place to live. Q. A. Well, y'all were married? Right.
Q. Did you have an unhappy marriage with Dr. Jay Jackson? A. Yes.
Q. And then you go in -- you go on -- excuse me -- in two, three lines down: When I started working for Bubba he gave me an opportunity that allowed me over time a freedom I had never experienced. That's what you wrote, correct?
15
A. 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
I did.
Q. And you continued: He allowed me for once in my life to take care of myself and for once have faith in myself as a person and as a woman to know that I could do it on my own? A. Q. True. All of that is true; is it not?
Q. And have faith in yourself as a person, that was true when it was written? A. True -
Q. And you go on: Since then I have become the independent woman I have always wanted to be, that was true when it was written? A. True.
Q. And you go on: I have been given opportunities that I never thought possible, all because of you and Bubba? A. True.
:.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
not? A. True.
Q. And back up -- two sentences up when you're talking about, you know, that you could do it on my own, you also say: Yall were my Aunt Peggy. Who is Aunt Peggy? A. Paula and Bubb&s --
Q. Aunt? A. Uh-huh.
Q. And what did that mean to you when you wrote, y'all were my Aunt Peggy? What did that mean? A. Well, Aunt Peggy helped Paula get started and become who she is, and me having the opportunity there was the same thing. Q. Okay. So that these two folks here had
given you that opportunity, correct? A. Q. Yes, they offered me the opportunity. Opportunities that you, Lisa Jackson, had
never thought possible for you personally, correct? MR. WOOLF: Objection. Asked and anse red. BY MR. WITHERS: Q. A. You can go ahead. Not on my own, no.
187
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Q. Now, by the way, ma'am, you personally authored this letter praising both Paula and Bubba and delivered it to her, correct? A. Q. Correct. At Karl's encouragement. Did you ever author a letter, ma'am, to
Paula criticizing Bubba? A. No. I was told not to do that, that Karl
a
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
would do that. Q. Despite the fact that you had become independent and a person that could have faith in yourself, you were never able to author that letter that would he critical of Bubba? A. I'm independent enough to write the letter. That would not have been delivered to Paula by Karl. That was the chain of command. I did visit Paula and we talked about Bubba's behavior. Q. And you go on in the next sentence that: You have the ability -- talking about Paula Deen personally -- to touch people and offer hope in situations where they feel nothing but hopelessness, correct? A. Correct.
Q. And you go on in the next sentence that: You have a vision to offer hope to other women,
::
I 2 3 4 5 6
n
Q. When you say situations like we were, you're saying to Mrs. Paula Deen, situations like you and she had been in; is that accurate? A. Correct.
7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Q. And then you go on over the next few sentences and talk about how you envision Uncle Bubba's as a place for event planning, weddings,
True.
Q. And then you continue, that you envision Uncle Bubbas as a perfect place for those special events, true? A. True.
Q. And you continue describing how -- if you 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 turn to the top of the next page, ma'am, you'll see you continue how -- you describe the
impression that the Bethesda event had had on you, where people were paying $500.00 a person to conic and mingle with Paula and her family, correct? A. True.
Q. And you say in the middle of the next paragraph, two paragraphs down, that all of the
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
your fans love each and every family member. Then you talk about the different contributions the different family members could make, true? A. True.
Q. And then you end the letter, ma'am, by saying: I would love the opportunity to spearhead this endeavor with the help of Theresa, Paul, Karl and Brandon, to create an enterprise that will not fail, correct? A. Correct.
Q. And that each of these people have a talent and passion for you and your company and will not let this fail, correct? A. written. Q. All right. Now -- and so you're talking about you spearheading this new endeavor then, right? A. it. Q. And you had been proposing that, working closely on that new endeavor with Karl Schumacher, correct? A. I didn't propose it. Karl did. Yes. Karl said I would be in charge of Correct. With the help of Karl, that was
190
I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
0
Q. Okay. And your idea with respect to that was not acted upon over the coming weeks, was it? A. Karl to my knowledge was continuing to work on it and he was working with Tanya Mack on it. Q. Uh-huh
A. As far as I was concerned I did address it with Melissa and some of the managers, and asked them would they partake in that because I thought that it would be good idea. I think Karl may have even spoken with them, but Karl was just desperate to come up with an idea for Uncle Bubba's that excluded Bubba. MR. WITHERS: All right. Can we get that marked, please, ma'am.
BY MR. WITHERS: Q. A. You can keep going now. Sorry. He asked me to come up with
20 21 22 23 24 25
something good to make the letter sound really good. Don't say anything about Bobby, Jamie or Bubba because Paula will get angry. And to get it together for him so we
191
1 2 3 4 5
could turn it in because he was sick and tired of Bubba. So that's what I did. Q. Everything that you wrote in that letter we have reviewed and you would say is true, correct? A. Q. A. It is true. All right. The letter is true. I mean, the fact that
6
7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 2 24 25
I wrote it, I don't agree with, but I was told to write a very nice letter in praise of them because
that's what Karl wanted me to do.
Q. You have in front of you what has been marked as D-14, ma'am. A. Yes.
Q. That's a two-page document. I want you to look at -- it starts with an e-mail string on the second page. Take a gander at that, if you would, please. MR. WOOLF: Read it all carefully. Let's take a break. Tom, is that okay with you? MR. WITHERS: Yes, that's fine.
BY MR. WITHERS:
192
I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. By the way, ma'am, you had mentioned earlier - we had talked earlier about issues relating to racial discrimination. Tell me each occasion that you contend you were retaliated against because of some position you took with respect to racial discrimination. A. Do you mean by Bubba or Karl or Q. By J3ubba, Karl, somebody at PDE, Paula
Deen Enterprises, somebody at Uncle ubba's Seafood & Oyster House, Inc.? A. If he said something inappropriate -- and I know Sandra one time corrected him and said, why would you say that? And I said, you shouldn't have said that. And he said, well, its true. So we knew we never could correct it. So I felt retaliated against that day. By that coniment we knew not to say anything else about it because he was going to say what he wanted to. Q. Tell me every other instance of retaliation that you can think of. A. That he continued to do it after things
193
1 2 3 4 5
going to do it no matter what. Q. Have we talked about each instance, then, of retaliation, ma'am? A. No. I cant remember them. Q. Can you recall as you sit here for your deposition today any other instance or retaliation where you felt like Bubba Fliers, Karl Schumacher, Paula Deen, or one of the corporate enterprises retaliated against you because of some position you
10 11 12 13 14 15 16 3-7 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. Do you have in front of you Defendants Exhibit 14? A. Q. Yes. Turn to the secon.dpage of that exhibit,
please, ma'am. A. Q. Okay. And by the way, ma'am, if you need to take
a break at any time, feel like you need to have a drink of water, or what have you, you just let me know and I'll be happy to comply with that request, okay? A. Okay. Thank you.
Q. Now, turning to the second page of Exhibit 14, you write on the fourth line down that
194
1 2 3 4 5 6
the kitchen staff is difficult to deal with, to say the least, correct? A. Correct.
Q. They all have very different backgrounds than most people, correct? A. Correct.
7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. What did you mean by that, they all have very different backgrounds than most people? What does that mean? A. They were different. You know, they had issues. They were different with how they responded to you every day. You never knew when you came in, depending on what happened to them at home that night before or their backgrounds. They were very different from a lot of the people that I have ever worked with or- a lot of the people up front. They were very different
cultured, They were different. You had to be careful, you know, with them on how you would say good morning sometimes. Q. And then you go on to write: They are angry most of time about nothing but Life? A. Q. True. That statement was true?
Case 4:12-cv-00139-WTM-GRS Document 176-1 Filed 05/15/13 Page 195 of 281 Case 4:12-cv-00139-WTM -GRS Docjiment 101-1 *SEALED* Filed 03101/13 Page 195 of 281
195
1 2 3
4
Q.
mean to interrupt you. Does that statement reflect how you felt at the time?
MR. WOOLF: Finish your statement and
5 6 7 8
9
then answer his question. THE WITNESS: They were angry that they were kept down by the white man. They used to say that every day. They were angry and they felt like it was the same way at Uncle Bubba's,
10
11
12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
U
Q. And then you talk about how Plan A isn't going to work, true? A. Correct.
Q. Tell me what Plan A was. A. Just the focus of the main restaurant the
entire time. Running the restaurant every day. Q. Getting it profitable, correct?
25
196
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
A. And making it a safe environment for people to work, as well. Q. And then you go on: We have talked about Plan B. I have lost a lot of sleep thinking about how we're going to make it happen and be prosperous, correct? A. Q. maam? A. Correct. Now, what does Plan B refer to there, I believe it refers to cutting labor,
Q. Now, turn to the front page, if you would, please, ma'am. That's an e-mail from Mr. Schumacher to you a couple days later, correct? A. Q. A. Correct. And it references UB's, right? Correct.
Q. In the second paragraph Mr. Schumacher tells you: For the next few weeks we can not make any changes. It's our busiest time of the year. Correct?
197
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
A. Q.
changes with respect to cutting the costs because that's something that you always do, right? A. He was talking about remodeling.
Q. This doesn't refer to your plan for a new type of Uncle Bubba's? A. Q. I don't believe so, no, it wasn't. Did you understand it -- what did you
14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 BY MR. WITHERS: Q. You have in front you Exhibit 15, do you? A. Q. Yes, sir. If you would look at the second page of (Exhibit D-15 was marked for identification.)
that exhibit, please, ma'am. A. Q. Yes. That's the Charge of Discrimination filed
11
1 2 3 4 S 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. And she alleges in the first paragraph that younger, less experienced bartenders were being retained and hired after your discharge, correct?
A.
Correct.
Q. And that on the second paragraph you said she was being discharged due to lack of work and some labor costs, right? A. Right. I did not discharge Ellen.
Exhibit 16? A.
Yes.
Q. And again she parrots the earlier charge of discrimination saying that younger, less experienced workers were kept on or hired after she
199
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. And that managers were heard saying they needed to get younger, good looking people to work to bring customers in, correct? A. That's what she states.
discharged due to lack of work and labor, right? A. Q. I never discharged her. That's what she writes. Did I read that
BY MR.WITHERS: Q. A. Q. That's D-18 1 Exhibit D-18; is it not? D-17. D-17, I'm sorry. That's Sandra Waliusley's
Q. And it has that same language about younger, less experienced bartenders being hired
200
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 q 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. And has that same language about what you had told her that she was being discharged for, correct? A. Yes.
But I did not discharge her.
BY MR. WITHERS: Q. Now, then the final Charge of Discrimination was for Layne Thomas, correct? A.
Q. A.
Correct.
And that's Exhibit 18; is it not? Yes.
Q.
Mrs. Thomas says: Prior to her discharge three bartenders who worked under her were discharged and they filed an EEOC Charge of Discrimination, right? A. Q. A. I didn't know that they were discharged. Is that what she writes there? She wrote that, but I was not aware that
201
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
told everyone of the three charges of discrimination which were filed against the employer. That's what she writes, correct? A. Correct.
Q. Then she stated, she wanted to know who had been talking to them, and she looked straight at me and said she knew I had spoken to Sandra Walmsley. That's what she writes, correct? A. Correct.
Q. Then Layne Thomas writes that: I told her I thought it was unprofessional to have let them go and hire younger inexperienced bartenders. That's what Layne Thomas writes, correct? A. Correct. But that's not what she said.
Q. And then that Lisa Jackson told me to get the 'F' out, correct? A. Correct.
Q. That she believes she had been retaliated again against in violation of the Age of Discrimination Employment Act, correct? A. Correct.
Q. Now, you describe an incident on the loading dock in your lawsuit, ma'am, or at the back
202
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
of the restaurant, I think you say. Tell me, were you present for that? MR. WOOLF: Objection. Make it clear. That's a totally unclear question. MR. WITHERS: Let me be more specific. MR. WOOLF: Thank you. BY MR. WITHERS: Q. You say that during a meeting called by Bubba Hiers in the kitchen one afternoon, later in your tenure, Bubba Fliers who was extremely intoxicated began beating his chest and challenging anyone and everyone in the kitchen to fight him? A. That happened in the kitchen. Q. A. Pardon me? That happened in the kitchen.
8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. My question is: Were you present for that -A. Q. Yes. -- incident? Yes..
A.
Q. And who else was present at that incident? A. Everyone that was clocked in for the kitchen was present. U. Do you recall who that was?
203
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 16 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
standing near me. Q. And who is that? A. Ivory Brown, Will Fraser, April McDonald,
Q. Did you make any notes as a result of that incident? A. I mentioned it to Karl.
Q. Other than speaking with Mr. Schumacher, did you make any notes of that? A. No.
Q. Was anything that Mr. Hiers said in that kitchen on that day directed to you? A. Yes. It was directed to all of us.
Anyone who wanted to fight him, he would meet them on the dock. Q. And what preceded that? A. I'm not sure.
Q. So tell me what you saw then. A. I just walked in when we were called to
come to the kitchen meeting. I didn't see what happened before that. I just heard him yelling for everyone to come to the kitchen. Q. Yes. Then what happened?
204
1 2 3
A. He gathered everyone together. And then that's when he started screaming at the kitchen and beat on his chest, and said, if any of you he
4
5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
used a curse word -- if you don't like it you can meet me on the dock. Q. How long did that incident last? A. About ten minutes. Q. Then I want to talk to you about issues related to your medical care and treatment, ma'am. When you were here in Savannah, who all did you see for any issue related to or that you relate to your time at Uncle &ibba's? A. Q. A. Q.
A.
Q. How about Dr. Alan Lord? A. Q. All right. Did Dr. Lord see you with respect to anything related to your time at Uncle Bubba' s? A.
24 25
205
I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q.
A.
He does that as well. I'm sorry? He does that as well. You write in your lawsuit, ma'am, that
Q A. Q.
your doctor informed you that you were suffering medical consequences as a result of your time at Uncle Biihbas. Who told you that? MR. WOOLF: I object because I'm not sure that's exactly what the Complaint says, but if -- so it's a misleading question. I ask that you rephrase it.
MR. WITHERS: I think I characterized it fairly. BY MR. WITHERS: Q. Go ahead and answer.
A.
doctor informed her were caused directly by her work environment, end of quote. Who told you that? A. Dr. Docu.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. And what kind of physician is Docu? A. sure. Q. And then you write again, quote, her doctor insisted she stay away from work, and during her last weeks of employment requested that she allow him to admit her to the hospital, end of quote. Who told you that? A. Dr. Lord. I'm not sure. General practice -- I'm not
Q. What was Dr. Lord telling you, you needed to stay away why was Dr. Lord telling you you
Q. And continuing on with that same paragraph in the lawsuit, it says, quote, the doctor refused to treat her with medication, stating the only way for things to improve would be for her to quit her job, period, end of quote. Who told you that, which doctor? A. Q. Docu.. And so you were seeing Dr. Lord and
207
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
Q. And Dr. Docu, when did you start seeing him? A. I don't remember the exact date. 2009.
Q. What was the Dr. Docu seeing you for? A. Q. you? A. He did. Did Dr. Docu prescribe any medication for
take, do you recall anything else that Dr. Docu prescribed for you? A. I don't recall.
Q. Anyone other than Dr. Docu and Dr. Lord, who treated you for anything that you related to your time at Uncle Bbba's while you were here in town? A. I saw Dr. Dunston.
23 24 25
208
Q. 2 3 4 5 6 you? A. A.
a.
a.
A.
.7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. How many surgical procedures did you have with Dr. Lord? A. Two.
Q. How long were you out as a result of the surgeries with Dr. Lord? A. November the 7th until February 2nd. Q. A. So a period of months then? Yes.
Q. And when I mentioned out, I meant out of work. You understood what I meant? A. Yes.
Q. And were you paid by Uncle Bubba's for that two, three-month period of time that you were
209
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
LI
Q. What physicians have you seen outside of Savannah for anything that you relate to your time at Uncle Bubba's? A. Q. A. Q. A. Q. A. Dr. Shirley Chancey. Yes. Atlanta. She's a psychotherapist. Yes. That's all. Didn't you see doctor -Oh, Dr. Abcli. I saw him for I no longer see him. Q. Right. When did you first see someone outside of Savannah for anything that you related to issues from your days at Uncle Bubba's? A. I can't remember the exact date.
Q. Well, if you left Uncle Bubba's employment in August of 2010, you moved to Atlanta when? A. December 2010. 1 guess I saw someone the next summer probably. Q. So that would have been 2011?
A. Yes.
Q. How did you come to see Dr. Chancey? A. She was recommended to me by a friend.
210
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 :1.1 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. Where in Atlanta?
A.
Iv m not sure. Doraville.
Q. How many times have you seen Dr. Chancey? A. Over fifteen. I don't know how many exact times I've seen her. Q. A. Q. A. Q. A. Q. Abdi? A. For my He's down Is Dr. Chancey able to prescribe? No. You see her for 3: do. Has she sent you to see a psychiatrist? No. Dr. lthdi, how did you come to see Dr.
the street from where I live. Convenient. Q. And did Dr. Abdi prescribe any medication for you? A. Q. A. names of them blood pressure. Q. Anything else? He did. What were those? -- I don't know the for
211
I 2 3
A.
That 1 s it.
Q. Nowt I think you told me you started seeing Dr. Chancey in the summer of 2011? A. Yeah.
4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11. 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
0. And you began seeing Dr. Abdi when? A. I saw him -- I can't remember the first
Q. When you saw Dr. Abdi, when he was taking a history from you, did you describe for him a physical assault by a former employer? A. Not myself.
Q. Does that mean that somebody else described that for him? A. No. I described it, but not assaulting me physically. Q. Okay. And what did you tell Dr. Abdi in that respect? A. That I had panic attacks and I had moved. I left my job because I was stressed about an assault that happened at work and that I basically felt like I suffered from that. I still was having panic attacks from it and very upset because of it. Q. Okay. Well, let me be more pointed, and
212
1 2
3 4
I'm not try to embarrass you in asking you this question But did you tell Dr. Abdi that
5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
A. Q.
No. That's not true. Did you tell Dr. Abdi that you suffered
employee suffered physically, and that I was very close to that employee. Q. What conditions, ma'am, do you contend you suffer from today a5 a result of your days as a general manager at Uncle Bubba's? A. Do I suffer today? Q. tih-huh.
think it's sad to me every day because it's not where I wanted to end up, because I loved what I was doing there and I feel like I was forced to leave because no one would help me there. Q. Letmeaskyoua -A. And people knew --
213
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. Excuse me. I didn't mean to interrupt. Let me ask it a different way. Maybe I wasn't specific enough. What medical conditions do you contend you suffer from today that you ascribe to your time at Uncle Bubb&s? A.
Q. Have you told me every condition, ma'am, that you contend -- medical condition that you contend you suffered from as a result of your days at Uncle BubbaTs?
A.
Q. Did you make a statement to the Georgia Medical Board? A. Yes. They sent a detective out.
Q. And what was the reason that you filed that complaint? A. Because he was texting me, asking.me to go
out on a date with him, Q. Anything else? A. That it was inappropriate. That I
214
1 2 3 4 5 6
Q. And when you're talking about confiding in him, you're talking about describing your past history to him? A. No, not that. My panic attacks I
described to him. And my visits with him were very short. Q. By the way, we have talked about the U.S.
7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24
Food incident on August 10 of 2010. Who was the server for the table that Julian De Fontaine was at that night? A. I don't recall that.
Q. When did you and Ms. Suinmerlin make the decision that y'all would move to Atlanta? A. Q. December of 2010. And when did Ms. Sununerlin obtain
Q. Had she used a headhunter or employment recruiter for the purpose of assisting her in that employment search? A. No.
Q. Did you obtain a copy of the materials put together by MacWorks before you left the employment
25
215
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 B 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2]. 22 23 24 25
of Uncle F3uhba's?
A. What material are you speaking about? Q. Its in the form of a booklet that MacWorks prepared for Mr. Schumacher, Lady & Sons and Uncle Bubba's.. A. Karl shared some of that information with me, but I didn't receive a booklet. Q. How was it that Mr. Schumacher shared that information with you? A. When he was at the restaurant at Uncle Bubbas he showed me what they were saying. Q. Now, you have claimed as part of this lawsuit that you suffered as a result of having your home foreclosed upon? A. Uh-huh.
Q. After you left Savannah, I believe? A. Correct. what Realtor did you list your
Q. Okay. So you are claiming as damages in this case, damages related to the foreclosure of your home, right?
216
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
H
A.
Right.
All right.
A. We paid half of the mortgage and I had a renter pay the other half. But I couldn't continue to pay the other half, so we just let it go into foreclosure. We couldn't pay it. Q. A. All right. So they offered the short sale and then
they said we didn't qualify for that And we had a lot of equity in that home so I'm sure they wanted to take it and they did. Q. And why is it, ma'am, that you did not put
that residence -- list that residence with a real estate broker? A. City Mortgage told us not to list it because they were working on modifications. We tried to work on modifications, we didn't qualify for that. So then we tried to move to the short sale, and then we missed the deadline on that and
2]. 22 23 24 25
217
1 2 3 .4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
couldn't do that because we had renters in there. And so it went into foreclosure. We would have listed it. Q. Okay.
A. We did actually have it for sale when we first moved with Traci Amick. Q. And when was that? A. December 2012. She showed it one day and
then she had a client that wanted to lease to purchase it. They leased it, but then when it came time for them to purchase it, they couldn't qualify, and they moved out. And then we had another renter move in with the same thing that wanted to lease to buy. They couldn't qualify for it. Q. When did you contact Traci Amick with respect to selling that residence? A. Q. A. Q. The week before Thanksgiving I think. Of the 2012? 2010. Okay. Well, you said 2012 a minute ago.
218
1 2 3 4 5
A. Because we wanted to sell it when we moved to Atlanta. I mean, I had no employment. Pricilla had no employment. We didn't know how we were going to pay for the home. Q A. Excuse me. Yes. Were you finished?
6
7 B 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. Did you ever leave work at Uncle Bubbas to come to downtown Savannah to get a pedicure. A. No, I did not.
Q. Did you ever leave work at Uncle Bubba's and go shopping downtown? A. To Paris Market once to buy a crystal decanter for our tours. Q. Did you ever contact any employees at Uncle Bubbas after you left and tell them that you wanted them to get together with you so that you could discuss a lawsuit against either Uncle Bubba's or Paula Deen?
A. No. I spoke with April McDonald and Tonya
Hazel to speak to me about the Big Will incident, but not a lawsuit. Q. Did you ever get anything in writing either from Big Will or from Tanya Hazel A. Q. No. -- about the Big Will incident?
219
11
A.
Yes.
2 3 4
6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. I thought you just told me you got -- that you got something in writing from Tonya and April? A. Well, a text.
Q. Anything other than. a text from Will? A. A phone call. He made a phone call to me, but that was it. Q. Now, your counsel has indicated to us that you made a surreptitious recording with Mr. Schumacher in July of 2010; is that accurate? A. Q. A. Its accurate. How did you. make that recording? On my phone. H
Q. And where is that recording now, where is it physically located if we wanted to hear it? A. In my possession at my home.
220
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 'U 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. How long would that take you to do that? A. .I'm in the process of it right now. Probably another 24 hours. Q. Any difficulty with respect to making that recording? A. No. They are just retrieving It from the computer. Q. Have you made an effort to retrieve it previously? A. Yes. We sent it,
Q. All right. And tell me about when that occurred. Do you remember the date?
A.
I don't remember the date. Is the date reflected on the recording? Yes. It was in July, but I don't remember
Q. A. the date
Q. Was that about the time that you decided that you were going to leave Uncle Bu.bba's? A. Yes. It was after a conversation I had
with Karl. Q. And so that conversation then -- at the time of that conversation you had made the decision that you were going to be leaving Uncle Bubba's; is
221
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
that right?
A.
Q. And since we haven't had the benefit of having that recording provided to us, tell me what that recording says. A. He stated -- I asked him -- he gives us
our cash sales were negative $26,000.00. And to quote him, he said, because your butt hole boss steals money, that he is not as smart as his nephews. They stick money in their pocket just like Dustin does. And you may make a profit if he didn't do that. Because I asked him about bonuses, as well. And he brought to my attention that he was just sick of the whole clan, that Dustin and everyone was making more money, that's what he said. He said if he weren't stealing you would show a profit. Q. And how long was that recording? A. Probably -- I really can't remember how
24 25
222
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
or fifty minutes? A. It was probably over thirty minutes. MR. WITHERS: We'll go off the record.
MR. WITHERS: Ma'am, can you identify yourself for Mr. Woolf? 4S. BAILEY: I'm Melissa Bailey. I'm an attorney for Oliver Maner. MR. WOOLF: I would like just to know who is in the room on the record as they come in and out.
BY MR. WITHERS: Q. Mrs. Jackson, we're back on the record and you continue to be under oath. Ma'am, did you ever tell the employees that they had to use the back entrance? A. I told all of the employees they did. I
posted a note for the managers to let them know. Q. Okay. Now, you were interviewed by Tanya
223
1 2 3 4
U
A. Q.
A.
I do not.
Q. And how long did you speak with her? A. An hour maybe. Q. And what did you tell her? A. About the conditions there. Q. And what did you say?
A.
5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
stress that we were dealing with every day. Q. Anything else that you spoke with her about that you can recollect? A. No, not that I remember. MR. WITHERS: Okay. Wes, since we have been asking for that recording for some period of time -MR. WOOLF: Yes, Do you want to talk about that right now? MR. WITHERS: Yeah. We'll reserve the right to ask any questions regarding that since it's not yet been produced to us. If that's an issue we'll take it up as we need to. MR. WOOLF: Right. MR. WITHERS: We hope that given the fact that we don't have it yet that we could do so.
224
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
MR. WOOLF: Yeah. I hear what you're saying. I'm not necessarily agreeing, but I hear what you're saying and I'd like a copy of that as much as you would. MR. WITHERS: Okay. MR. WOOLF: We're working on it. MR. WITHERS: I believe that Mr. Franklin may have a question or two. Thank you very much. MR. FRANKLIN: I represent Paula Deen. EXAMINATION BY MR. RANKLIt: Q. Ms. Jackson, you said a lot of very nice things about Paula Deen in your letter of May 27th of 2010; did you not?
A.
Idid.
Q. And I think you told Mr. Withers that you meant what you said about Mrs. Deen isn't that right? A. Correct.
Q. And you still mean what you said in this letter about Mrs. Deen? A. No.
Q. What between May 27th, 2010 and today has changed your mind about Mrs. Deen?
225
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
ri
LI]
A. Because I had a conversation with Karl and he was going to come -- go talk to Mrs. Deen about the issues at Uncle BubbaTs. And I feel like we wouldn't be here today, had she addressed those issues with me. Q. Now, this was sometime subsequent to May 27, 2010, Karl Schumacher said he was going to go talk to Mrs,. Deen and address the issues? A. Right. The Big Will issue. Karl himself
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
23 24
discrimination between myself and Dustin. I mean, I wouldn't have known that. Karl brought that to my attention that Dustin was making a lot more, that he had bought a house, that he had his car paid for. So Karl told me he was getting the HR people involved, that they were meeting with Paula and things were going to be taken care of, that systems were in place. And he led me to believe he did and that she didn't do anything about it. Q. Up until May 27th, 2010, you had no
25
226
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
bias or prejudice did she? A. Yes. One remark she made at Bu]Dba's
wedding planning. Q. Were you there -A. Q. Yes. -- at the planning? Now, you tell me,
when did that occur and where? A. On her back porch. Q. Which house, Dogwood? A. Dogwood. We were sitting on the back porch and we asked about the uniforms. And she made a remark about how she wanted them dressed. Q. A. Q. A. Who was there? It was Bubba, and me, and Paula. Bi.thba, you, and who? Paula.
Q. Okay. What did she say how she wanted them dressed? A. Like they used to dress in the Shirley Temple days with the long white shirts and the shorts. And I remember thinking when she said it that I thought about Dora. And I thought, I know she loves -- I know you love Dora, and it was like how could -- you know, how could she say something like that. Then
227
I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
a fan, rode by on a boat, and she said, well, we know we can't do that because the media would be on us. And I just at that moment thought --
it was disappointing, but I still had respect for the position doing there. Q. And, but was her comment was that she wanted a wedding back in the Shirley Temple days with blacks wearing what?
A.
Q.
A. And black pants or black shorts. Q. And that's the sum total of the conversation about that; is that correct? A. Uh-huh, correct. -
Q. And you said that you know that -- I think you said that she loves Dora? A. I have always heard that she did.
Q. And do you know -A. Q. She told me that. -- do you know -- has Dora told you that
the affection is mutual? A. No. That's not what Dora has told me.
228
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
A. That she feels Paula has discriminated against her. Dora told me that before -- I mean, probably sometime in 2010. Q. What did Dora tell you in 2010 that Paula had done to discriminate against her? A That Paula had promoted a male White
kitchen manager over her, and that she had been there the longest, and her pay was less, and that Paula made racist comments. And so I had a conversation with Karl about it. I said, tell me like, can someone help Dora? He said, Dora is helped enough. Paula helps Dora. She helps her whole family. But I never had another discussion with Dora about that after that. I just asked Karl to handle that. Q. So other than your -- the one conversation on the back porch at Paula's house at Dogwood, where she described what she'd like the wait staff to wear, you have never heard Paula make a racist remark, have you? A. Not heard it Q. You have never known Paula to discriminate against a person based on gender, have you? A. I'm not aware..
14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
229
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. And you have never known Paula to sexually harass anyone, have you? A. Q. Not me. Well, I mean, you filed the lawsuit and
that's why I'm asking you these questions. A. Well, people have claimed that. Q. Well, people claim a lot of things. But
A.
Videos.
Q. What videos do you have? A. That are out they are public videos.
Q. What videos that are public videos? A. There are so many of them that I can't
name all of the videos that say that they offend them sexually. Q. But as far as you know, Paula Deen working at that restaurant, or Paula Deen Enterprises, you don't know of any instances where she has discriminated against anyone based on sex, gender, color, or religion, do you?
A.
Q. A.
nothing was done with that. Q. When you say nothing was done, are you
230
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2]. 22 23 24 25
aware that there was a letter of reprimand, that he was admonished that if it happened again he would be fired? A. I do recognize that, but I also spoke with
Brandon about it after that. And Brandon said that Dora came to the house complaining, and Paula said she was lying, and that they weren't going to do anything to Dustin. That that was the last thing I heard about Dustin, other than Karl telling me that no one was going to touch Dustin because he's Jamie's best friend. Q. Have you told rue -- so I guess what we
have established, up until to May 27, 2010 -- well, even as of today -- you don't know any instances of Paula discriminating against anyone, other than what you said about Karl coming -- or talking to Paula? A. Q. to. Do you know what investigation was
conducted -A. Q. A. Q. Yes.. -- about Big Will? Yes. Do you know that Big Will has consistently
231
1 2 3 4 5 6
U
refuted -- you're laughing before I even finish the question --- that Big Will says it just didn't happen the way it's been described in the Complaint? Are you aware that Big Will has told a number of his coworkers? A. I'm aware that he's told his coworkers
7 8 9 10 ii. 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
that he's-scared he's going to be terminated and he has a family to support. And I have a text stating that. Q. Have you produced that text? A. Yes, MR. FRANKLIN: Do we have that text?
MR. WITHERS: It doesn't sound familiar. THE WITNESS: That he couldn't take a chance on telling the truth, that's what his text stated. BY MR. FRANKLINQ. When did that text occur? A. Last summer.
Q. A. Q. A.
After this lawsuit was filed? No. Before the lawsuit? Oh-huh.
232
1 2 3
U
to you? A. He called me actually to check on me, see how I was. And I asked him how he was, and his phone disconnected. I mean, we talked about his
dogs,
5 6
7
things like that. But then his phone -- the battery died
and then he texted me later and said, I love you, but I can't take a chance on telling the truth. Q. And you have turned that text over to your lawyers? A. Uh-huh.
8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. And you have substantially told me everything that you recall being in there! is that right? A. tjh-huh. I
Q. Now, when you worked -- you went to can't ever pronounce it -- Cafe? A. Q. Intermezzo.
at the time you arrived there? A. We didn't have a district manager. It was
the owner and -Q. A. Q. Brian Olson? He's the owner. There was not a district manager for the
233
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24
three or four restaurants they had? A. Oh, for a short time, Yacob. But I don't
know his last name. Q. A. You got him fired, didn't you? No, I did not get him fired. He got
himself fired. Q. How did he get himself fired? A. Because he had sex with one of the servers and he she had ' a video tape of it, and she turned it in to the CFO of that company at a Christmas party. Q. The sex was at the Christmas party or she turned the video over at the Christmas party? A. She turned the video over afterwards, but
I wasn't employed there then. I didn't even know about that. The owner -Q. Excuse me.
25
234
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 , 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 :1,8 1 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. Why did you leave there? A. The hours. It was open until 5:00 and
Q. hours? A.
Yeah, Yes.
Q. Why wasn't it a pleasant work environment? A. It was more of an after club restaurant.
Q. What do you mean by an after club restaurant? I live in Savannah. A. There were people that visited after they had been at the club all night. And they were drunk, and the cops were constantly staked out there. It was downtown Atlanta. It was dangerous to work out there. There was a car jacking out in front of the restaurant. It was not a good job. Q. It made you a nervous wreck working there? A. Not a nervous wreck, but I didn't like the carjackings and I didn't like the club scene there.
235
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
14
That was not what I was used to. Q. You were used to a much more gentile environment, is that safe to say? A. No, I wouldn't say that, but I would
not -- we didn't have a lot of drunk customers come in. Q. Did you make complaints to Brian Olson
about the conditions of the club or the cafe? A. Yeah. He was aware of them. He would visit and observe himself. That's why he's moved the location. Q. Was there inappropriate language used there, language at least that you considered to be inappropriate? A. Curse words, yes.
15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. By the people that worked there, too, wasn't there? A. Q. A. Yes. Servers. Excuse me? Servers, managers, yes.
Q. And servers, the managers, there were cuss words? A. Q. A. Yes. Dirty jokes? Yeah.
236
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. A. Q.
Oft-color, inappropriate jokes? I didn't hear those. Any racial comments? The N-word used? rp You have talked about a tape recording of
A. Q.
Karl. What prompted you to tape record -- of all the conversations you had with Karl, why did you pick the one on whatever day you said it was to -A. Because honestly I was going to take it to Paula because he had promised me and promised me that he was handling these issues. And he was telling me one thing. He wanted me to come up with this business proposal and change all of these things. It was like, he would tell me things, and then I never saw any of them happen. Q. Paula never told you anything that was
you began to suspect that, you know, Karl was not doing what he was telling you he was doing? A. Q Exactly. And you talked about a conversation he
237
1
2
the whole Deen clan or Deen family? A. Q. A. Yes, he did. Is this in that taped conversation? I don't remember if that was in that
3 4 5 6
7
conversation. Q. A. Q. A. Q. A. Q. A. Was this conversation I think he e-mailed that. Excuse me? I think he may have e-mailed that. E-mailed that to who? To me. That he was sick of the whole Deen family? Not the whole family, the - Jantie, Bobby
8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
N
and Bubba because all they did was mooch off of Paula pretty much. Q. You consider Paula to be a good person, don't you? A. Q. I have faith that she is, yeah. Now, you said Karl told you that you were
19 20 21. 22 23 24 25
Q. Now, how often or when did Karl -- is that in that conversation that's taped? A. That was in many, many conversations with
238
I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
Karl and John Schumacher. I would have never have known what they make at The Lady & Sons. I had no idea. John Schumacher was telling me and Karl would tell me. And he would tell me also with regard to the managers that we had that they were being under compensated according to what the -Q. Do you understand that the -- what did Karl tell you about Bubba? A. He hated Bubba. He used to tell, me that
all the time, that he hated him, that he hated his behavior, That he hated that he was drunk all the time. He hated that he was looking at porn all the time. Q. That he was doing what? A. Looking at porn. He hated Bubba. That's
a quote. That's what he said. Q. And when did he first express animosity -that's probably a soft word for what you said -hate for Bubba? How long had you been working there before this came up? A. It was when I became general manager and he started confiding in me, and he felt like Bubba didn't deserve the restaurant. Q. It was just sour grapes?
24 25
239
I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
A.
where it was corning from, but that's what he said tome. Q. You said you felt like sour grapes, that
A. Q.
I didn't say Karl was jealous. I'm sorry. Was it your impression that
Karl was just jealous that Bubba had -- that Bubba was Bubba, that he had Deen for a last name? A. I never really thought of that, but I
didn't know where it came from. Q. Okay. So from the time that you became
general manager Karl would tell you on numerous occasions that he hated Bubba? A. Q. Yes,. Did he express any animosity toward any
other members of the -- I know you said -A. Q. The boys. He never said anything bad about Paula,
but what did he say -A. He did actually say things bad about Paula. Q. What did he say bad about -A. That she was stupid and that she wasted
240
1 2 3
money if she didn't do that, and that was a. sin. And I would tell him, she's earned her money. She can do what she wants to with her
4
5
money. And he would say, no, she's just being stupid. Q. I think maybe Mr. Withers touched on it.
I believe there is -- somewhere in that epistle of a Complaint there is reference that Karl wanted you
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
to read some book by a religious author? A. Q. A. He did. What was that? The Zig Ziglar book, and I don't know the
name of the -- I can't remember the name of the other guy -- Matthews ! maybe -- but Zig Ziglar, and he told me that that was an important thing to have to run a Christian based business. And I said, well, this -- I have never known this to be a Christian based business. I believe people here should have the choice. And he said, well, it's my opinion -- and he said this in front of Julian De Fontaine -- it's my opinion that you should read it and you should practice it. Q. Did it offend you that someone said that
241
I 2 3 4 5 6
or whatever? Does that bother you? A. Q. Yes, it does. Because you're a Buddhist?
A. No. It offends me because everyone in that building is not a Christian and I just felt like he was enforcing his beliefs on us on, not just mine, but anyone that was Catholic or Jewish or Atheist. Q. Well, when you say he was forcing his
7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
belief, he never held it -- he never said read this book or you lose your job, or read this book and we're going to a have quiz, did he? A. He said it was a requirement to read it
because Julian said, you can't make her do that. And he said yes, I can. I'm the CFO. And Julian said, well, if you work for U.S. Food you'd be terminated. And he said, well, I don't work for U.S. Food. Q. When did this conversation occur, ball park? A. After we met with Tanya Mack, but I can't
remember when exactly. Q. Now, you said that Karl shared with you
242
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
U
Did he show you any written documents? A. Q. Yes. Was it in a binder? Was it loose pieces
of paper like all of this all over? A. No. It was just -- it was like this. It
was loose paper. It wasn't in a binder. It was e-mails or points that he had pulled out about Dustin and about -- basically showing me that Dustin wasn't cooperating with them, and it was another like salt in the wound kind of, oh, Dustin doesn't do anything he's supposed to do, but he makes this much money, and It was that kind of thing. It was loose papers, it wasn't in a binder. Q. I mean, do you think he showed it to you
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
to try and get you mad and think that you were getting -A. Q. Yeah. Yeah? Tell me what the rest of my
question is and maybe I'll agree. A. That I was going to get mad about that he showing me that, and get me mad. And I think sometimes he wanted me to quit because he knew that would -- he knew I cared about my job and that I really loved my job. I did the best job I could and I think he
243
1 2 3 4 5 6
7
0
always thought he knew that would hurt. I never told him Q. Do you think Karl -- I'm having trouble getting in your head. quit? A. I feel like that, because he didn't help
YOU think Karl wanted you to
resolve my problems. He never -- it was just he put me off and put me off all of the time. Q. But you said that you told hIii several
8
9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
times that you loved your job and you were relying on him to make some changes? A. And he would send e-mails, which I have copies of; just hang in there, I'm going to help with this. And it wasn't just me. It was other people, as well, there that I went to bat for. He was always e-mailing me. It was like, just talk to me, I'm going to deal with this, I'm going to Paula, I'm doing this, and I assumed he was. Q. You said that you tape recorded that telephone conversation -- 30-minute conversation
with Karl with the intent of taking it to
244
1 2 3 4
A. Because Karl told me after that conversation -Q. Which he didn't know was being recorded? A. No, he didn't. Maybe a few days after
5 that he informed me that he was not sure if he was bringing the HR people in to help, and he was just going to take over. So at that point I thought there was no 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 hope. There's no hope here. If Karl is taking over this company with HR, there is no hope. Q. A. Q. A. So that -So I quit. Excuse me, So you what? So I quit.
Q. That was the straw that broke the camels back? A. Yes.
Q. When he told you that he was going to take over HR? A. Q. A. Q. It was one of the straws What are some of the other straws? The Big Will -- I'm sorry. The Big Will?
A. The Big Will incident was not taken care of like he said. And basically the HR issue
245
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 B 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
because I felt like nothing was going to change with that. Q. Were you involved in -- did you ask Lindsay McCoy to design some T-shirt to advertise Uncle Bubba's? A. Lindsay did design T-shirts. I don't
remember if I asked her to do it or not. She did actually do it, yeah. Q. And that would have been at your request? A. It would have been at my request, just
like I asked Stephanie Strachan to design things. They both had designer backgrounds. Q. And you saw what she was -- and you knew basically what she was designing and she was going to present it to market, I guess? A. Well, market with Karl, yeah. Because
she -- that's why we had the Mac computer because we had to use Photo Shop for Michelle White. And she would come to my house and work on it. So I knew -- I kind of saw. I wasn't really paying attention to what she was designing, but I know she was designing. Q. Were those T-shirts ever brought to a meeting? A. I don't really recall. I recall that
246
1 2 3
4
she -- I asked Karl would he pay her to design them, and he said he would. And I really don't recall. Q. Do you have Comcast or any On-Demand TV service or service where you can rent movies? A. No. I mean, yeah, I have cable, but I
5
6 7
10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
25
Q. Are those the ones that provided service for you since you moved to Atlanta? A. Q. Yes.
You have talked about the emotional
problems which you attribute to working at Uncle ]3ubba's, but it seems, if my notes are correct, you have painted a picture of a very unhappy early years in your life. Is that fair to say? A. It was unhappy, but I don't live that every day, Uncle Bubba's helped me to get past that as being an independent woman. Q. At Uncle Bubbars, working there was a
tonic for you? It was therapy for you, wasn't it? A. The work itself was. I loved what I did and I felt I was good at what I did. I was proud of what I did. But not the environment. It was
247
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21. 22
23
U
toxic.
Q.
Well, was your first marriage toxic? No. It was just unhappy? Right.
A. Q. A. Q.
Q. Was it unhappy?
A.
Q. Was your marriage to Ray Jackson toxic? A. Q. A. Jay Jackson. Jay Jackson, excuse me. NO, it wasn't toxic.
A.
every marriage, whether you're a lesbian or you're not a lesbian. 0. You're going to -- you went to Dr. -- I
can't pronounce it -A. Q. I can't either. -- Dr. D, for lack of a better word, in
24 25
248
1 2 3
4
Q. Did any of this have to do with a question you might have had as to your sexual identity? A. No. I have always known that.
5
6 7
Q. Why did you keep getting married? A. Well, I had a child, and I was homeless,
8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
and I needed a place to live, and that was the condition for that. And as well as the second time, because he only agreed to do it so I would have a place to live, the first one, Eric. And then -Q. Well, why did you have to get married to live with Eric? A. That was the conditions. He was very religious -- he wasn't very religious -- his parents were very religious. And he was a Georgia Tech student and his parents supported him, so that's what we did. It was an arrangement and that's what we did Q. A. Just a marriage of convenience? For my child, yes.
Q. For you child? And you stayed married how long? A. Months.
249
I 2 3 4 5
Q. A.
Months? Yes.
Q. And then you got divorced and you shortly thereafter married Mr. Taylor?
A. Not until I was 18, 19. And then he knew,
Q. A.
Q. And you were not going to any kind of a psycho therapist, counselor, psychiatrist, psychologist, during your marriage to Dr. Jackson, were you? A. Q. No. Did Dr. Jackson know that you -- when did
you begin seeing your current partner? A. Not until maybe July of 2007.
Q. Was that about the time that Ambrose got run over and was in the hospital? A. That's how I met her.
Q. And that's how you met? Did you ever invite Ambrose to a hotel room in Savannah? A. He did visit when I left my husband, he did. But not a romantic relationship.
250
I 2 3
Q.
4 5 6 7 8 9 10
II
I was staying at a hotel for week and -I'm sorry, that's okay. That -- actually
I misspoke. What hotel were you staying at for a week? A. The Mansion.
Q. And who -- what husbands were you in between at that time? A. I wasn't in between husbands. I
was
12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
A.
ready to go to a food show so we were going to prepare for the food show. Q. In your hotel room? A. Yeah. Well, we were going to go to
251
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Did he come up to your room? He did. Were you upset he didn't have sex with
A.
you? A.
Q.
A. No. We actually ordered up and worked on the -- he was showing me about food costs. Q. A. Do you know Maury Taylor? She worked for Uncle Iubba's.
Q. You were good friends with her? A. Q. A. Q. No. You weren't good friends with her? No. Just coworkers?
19 20 21 22 23 24 25
A. Just coworkers. I would never say we were friends. Q. Beg your pardon? A. I would never say that we were friends.
252
1 2 3 4 5 [1 7 S 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21. 22 23 24
A. Q. A.
Yeah. I felt like I had many friends. Name a few, please. I felt like Melissa was, Sandra, Sara
Copeland, All. Everyone in the kitchen I considered friends. The staff I considered friends.
Q.
daylights of Bubba; is that right? A. Yeah. That's what they would say. When
they saw his truck pull in they would scatter. Melissa said it; Sandra said it; Terry Mooney said it; Mary Denison has said it, yeah. Q. Have you recorded any telephone conversations with anyone other than Karl Schumacher? A. Q. No. I think Mr. Withers asked you about the
interaction you had with Jim Gerard, and you described one meeting in this office, Oliver Maner; is that right? And that was when you and Karl and Bubba came; is that right? MR. WOOLF: I'm going to have to object. Asked and answered. THE WITNESS I had more than one meeting here with Jim.
25
253
1 2 3
BY MR. FRANKLIN:
Q. Were any of them -- we've already covered what was discussed at that meeting. Were any -did you ever make any other complaints or -- not complaints, but bring to Mr. Gerard 1 s attention any concerns that you were having about racial discrimination?
4
5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
A.
Q. A.
Yes.
When? Before and during the EEOC, actually,
because Layne claimed that we were racially discriminated against her over a bingo game. We discussed that. Q. About racial discrimination over a bingo game? A. Yes. And about racial issues at Bubbas.
bingo game definitely wasn't a racial issue because I had photos of white people winning the bingo game. Q. What are these issues that you told him about? A.
254
1 2 3 4 5
them. That they weren't allowed to go out the front to use the restroom and things like that. I relayed what the staff told me. Q. So you told him the staff -- some of them were concerned about using the back door? A. All of the African-American staff was concerned about that and made an issue of that.
S S
Q. Of entering and egressing -- coming in and out of the back door, they made an issue of that? A. Yes.
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. And they made an issue of using the restroom in the back; is that right? A. Q. A. Yes. There were no other instances, were there? Of being called 'boy', and there were
issues. There were issues of them complaining that they felt like they were slaves, and there were
issues of employees that family had worked at Lady & Sons and said they were treated the same way, and that that's how the Deen family wasp racist. Q. But you never saw Paula do anything racist? A. Q. I heard, but I've never Just that one? they were
25
1 2 3
4
A.
Q. Talking about how it would be neat to have a wait staff -A. Q. A. Yeah, -- dress that way? Correct. No, I don't think -- yeah, the
5 6 7 8 9 10
A. But then I've also heard that when Bubba told us how to run Uncle Bubba's, it was always because this is how my sister did it at Lady & Sons. So I assumed that, hey, it's probably that way down there, too, because the employees that transferred from there stated that it was. Q. And what's that? The employees using
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
different bathrooms or -A. The entrances and then the one being terminated for calling Paula a racist. Q. Who was terminated for calling Paula a racist? A. Gene Jones.
Q. And he --
256
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
A. Jamie terminated him he said for calling his mother a racist. Q. A. Is Jamie African-American? 1o.
Q. When was -- what was Gene Jones' position? A. I'm not sure.
Q. Was it during your employment at Uncle Bubba's? A. No. He worked for -. No. But was it the same -- during the time frame? A. Q. that? A. I know what I was told. I don't know I don't know. I'm not sure. So you really don't know anything about
257
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 :ii 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
A.
Yes.
Q. And you talked to him -- did you give him a written statement? A. No,
Q. Did he -- what did he say -- what interaction did he say he was going to have with Al Sharpton over what you told him? A. He asked me MR. WOOLF: I object. I don't think she testified that he was going to do anything as a result of anything she told him. MR. FRANKLIN: Well, we'll find out. BY MR. FRANKLIN: Q. What was the interaction between the two of you? A. He asked me would I give an interview because he read about the lawsuit. We never discussed it. I didn't know he even worked with NAACP. And I said, no, I have no comment; but I know someone if you want to talk to them, you can talk to them, but I'm not willing to give you a comment. And then he did make a trip to Savannah and he did talk to Will, and he did talk to Dora
258
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
and several people. And then he continued to call me, and I refused his phone calls and I referred him to Mr. Woolf. Q. Okay. When did Marcus Allen make a trip to Savannah; do you know?
A.
I 3m not sure.
Q. Well, you were working - how many months did you work for that cafe in Atlanta? A. Ten months, but I don't know when he did.
I was not involved in that. I did not have any idea. Q. Well, I guess was it -- did you say it was after the lawsuit was filed that he came and talked to you? A. Q. No. I thought you said he read something about
the lawsuit and wanted to interview you? A. What year did we do this? 2012. So it had to be after that. Because it was in the paper because he came to me and said he saw it in paper. Q. And then you said he came down here and he spoke with Rig Will? A. Q. A. That's what he said. And he spoke with Deiphirie? I don't know. I don't know who he spoke
259
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
to exactly. I know that -Q. he know? I mean, you keep looking at him when I ask you a question. I'm just trying to find out who Marcus spoke to? A. I replied that I have no idea who he spoke to, I do know he spoke to a few people here. I'm not sure who was involved in that.
Q.
ai
12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
25
out? A. Q.
A.
A.
No, sir.
Q. And the business you're in now you have told us is Mac? A. Mary Mac's.
what
260
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
things very consistent with what I did at Uncle Bubba' s. Q. And what do they make or do there? I'm not familiar with Mary Mac's. A. It's almost like the Lady & Sons,
honestly. It's southern, cuisine. Q. Do you hear what you would consider any inappropriate words spoken by the staff there? A. Q. Never. Let me ask you this; The staff in the
kitchen at Uncle Bo.bb&s, did you ever hear one African-American refer to another as using the N-word? A.
Q.
14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Yes, I did. Or just in conversation with each other? Yes. Did that offend you?
A.
Q.
A. Yes. And I made that clear. Q. Who did you make that clear to? A Anyone that I heard say that. They knew
that it was my policy and the company policy you can't say that.
Q.
261
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. A.
Q. -- when you heard them use it? A. I told theta that I felt discriminated
against. That it was very offensive, that people died over that word and that it offended me
262
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Q. Well, you said you were there and saw it. I'm just -A. I saw the video and I saw the incident.
Not all of her language was portrayed in the first -- in the original incident, no. Bubba didn't use all of that language that Marie did. Q. A. Q. believe. A. Did he use any of it? Yes. You didn't tell us any cuss words, I don't
:io 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Yes.
civil rights. Q. right? A. Right, Okay. That's the only cuss word he used,
Q. Are there any other -- for lack of a better -- videos or tapes that have been done to your knowledge of alleged incidents that took place at Uncle Bubba's? A. I have no knowledge of that.
Q. And I think you said you have not been in contact with Deiphine in quite some time? A. Q. Yes, I have. So you have been?
A. Uh-huh.
263
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q.
When did she come to Atlanta? A. Two or three months ago. Q. Was that A. Q. A. Hungry? Hungry, rather? She didn't come to visit Hungry. He - is was Hunger there?
A. No. She came to -- she had a personal reason to come to -- oh, they were going to six Flags. Q. A. Q. Okay. And she called you? She called me. And did y'all meet?
A. No. She actually came to eat at the restaurant I work at, but I was busy. I couldn't
264
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
C
MR. WITHERS: Give us just a. minute, if you would, Wes. Let's take a break for a few minutes. MR. WOOLF: Okay.
EXAMINATION BY MR. WOOLF: Q. All right. Mrs. Jackson, let me ask you a
couple of questions. Do you have personal knowledge of Mr. Marcus Allen's relationship with Al Sharpton, the NAACP, or any other advocacy organization of that nature? A. I only know what he told me when .I worked with him. Q. Okay. Could you explain in a little more
19
detail the incident at the Cafe Intermezzo where someone was terminated from employment and any conduct of yours that might have contributed in any way to the termination of that person's employment? A. Our comptroller reviewed video tapes every day of what happened the night before. And he saw it on the tape and he brought it to me.
20
21 22 23
24
25
265
I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1-1 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Q. He saw what? A. He saw the -- I think he was the director of operations having sex with a server out in the back parking lot at the Christmas party. And he turned the tape over to me and I turned it over to the owner. Q. Did you terminate the employment of that individual? A. Q. No. You were asked a question earlier
regarding items removed and not returned to Uncle BuJDba's restaurant. And I believe that my list included one item you didn't mention that was chef coats. Can you explain what happen to the chef coats? A. Yes. I had the chef coats cleaned after
the holiday and they were hanging in my closet in Savannah. Q. What holiday are we talking about? A. 0. A. Q. A. Thanksgiving. What year was this? I believe it was Thanksgiving. What year is this? It had tobe2009.
21 22 23 24 25
266
I 2 3 4 S 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. A.
honest with you. It could have been Easter. I don't know. I wouldn't have had them that long because they wore them on the holidays.
Q.
Uncle Bubba's?
A. Yes. I took them and had them cleaned and -- but if I didn't take them home they were going to take them -- I didn't have anywhere to store them. So they were going to take them and use them so I stored them there. I always thought I would be there forever. And I texted Sandra after I left and asked her did she want to meet me somewhere, and I'd be glad to give them to her because I knew that Thanksgiving was coining around again. And she never texted me back. I texted her again asking her did she want me to drop them off at R & R and she could pick them up. She never texted me back so I didn't feel comfortable leaving them at R & R. They were in my home when my home was foreclosed. Q. What happened to them, as far as you know?
267
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
A.
closet. I have no idea. I haven't been back to that home since. Q. Ms. Jackson, do you know what Jim Crow is? A. Q. Singer. Is that what you think Jim Crow is, is a
musician from the 19 -- from whenever? A. Q. The 60s. Okay. There has also been discussion of
how many conversations -- about how many conversations you had with Jim Gerard regarding issues related to discrimination during the time you were employed by the company. Can you give us more detail on when you met or when you spoke with Mr. Gerard and the nature of the conversation? A. I had approximately three conversations
with him during the EEOC meeting. Q. And these are the EEOC meetings of
Ms. Layne, Ms. Walmsley, and others? A. Q. Correct.. Okay. we discussed discrimination at Bubbas
A. And
then I made it clear that I wasn't aware that these women were terminated, other than Layne. We
y.1J
1 2 3 4
discussed it then. Q. A. Okay. Any other times? Yes. We discussed -- when Karl asked me
to get with Jim and write the policy and procedure for the company, we probably had three, tour, five discussions over that. He would call me and change different parts of the policy manual and I would make those corrections. And then the Big Will incident, three or four times. Q. Okay.
5 6
7
8
No
10 ii. 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
A. Other than that, Karl was the person I communicated with. Q. You had one meeting with Mr Gerard thats been discussed about that took place at Oliver Maner offices? A. And then we had one meeting at Uncle Bubba's. Q. Okay. Were race and gender discrimination discussed at either one of those meetings? A. Yes, they were discussed, as well as
sexual harassment, age discrimination, everything was discussed. Q. At one or both of those meetings at Oliver Maner and one at Uncle Bubb&s?
269
I 2 3 4 5 6 7 B 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
A.
now. MR. WITHERS; I have a few questions on followup. FURTHER EXAMINATION BY MR. WITHERS; Q. First, we had talked earlier about this
recording that you made of Mr. Schumacher in July of 2010. Who has tried to get that recording Off of whatever device its on now?
A.
PeachMac in Atlanta.
company now, but I can't remember the name of the company. Q. When was the last time you listened to that recording? A. Q. A. I don't recall the last time. Has it been since this lawsuit began? No. It was before that.
Q. Who is your contact at PeachNac? A. in. Q. Where is the computer located flow? A. On Ponce de Leon Avenue. I don't know. I didn't take the computer
270
I 2 3 4 5 6
Q. And you don't remember the name of the A. Q. I can't remember that. -- the store that you took it to? Excuse
me, I'm sorry. You can't remember the store that you took it to? A. Q. No. sow, you have described these two
7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
meetings, one at Uncle Bubba's, one at Oliver Naner, to discuss the EEOC claims? A. Yes.
Q. And you said at those meetings that age, race, and sexual discrimination was discussed? A. Correct.
Q. And was that discussed in the context of the four women who were making the discrimination Claims? A. Q. It was, as well as overall. Was the issue of a discriminatory hostile
work environment at Uncle Bubba's against you, from your point of view, discussed? A. Q. A. Karl led that meeting actually. That wasn't my question. Did I discuss them with'Jim Gerard?
271
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Q. A.
Yes. Yes.
Q. In other words, during those meetings you told Mr. Gerard that you were being discriminated against, suffering discrimination on a day-to--day basis, both with respect to age -- excuse me, with respect to sex and race discrimination; is that accurate?
A.
Q. And then you mentioned some other discussions you had with him dealing with the policy and procedure manual? A. Q. Correct. Did the issue of that you've described for
us here today of the daily discrimination come up during that -- those discussions over the policy and procedures manual? A. Yes, it definitely did.
Q. And you said, I believe, that would have occurred a couple of times, maybe three times? A. Three or four times. He continued to revise it. Q. And then you said you spoke with Mr. Gerard on three or four occasions with respect to the Big Will incident?
272
:12 3 4 5 6
A.
Correct.
MR. WITHERS: I think that's all I've got. Mr. Franklin? MR. FRANKLIN: Three to four. FURTHER EXAMINATION BY MR. FRANKLIN., Q. What was the gist of the conversations about Big Will? A. After . 1 called and left Karl a message and
7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
talked to Karl, then - I believe Karl asked me to call Jim. And I called Jim and told him what happened. And he said, okay, he said, let me call Paula. So he called me back and said that Paula was out of town on a trip, but he spoke to Barry, and Barry was the one to speak with Paula about it to see how to handle it. In the meantime have Bubba go apologize to Will. Bubba wasn't there at that time so I was going to have him do that. He wasn't there. And Jim called me back probably in ten minutes and said, don't have him apologize because we don't know what he will do. Let nte talk to Barry first after he has talked to Paula. So he calls back and he said that Barry
q .Qp
age7 .
9f 281
273
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 2-4 25
suggested that they pick Will up in a big limousine driven by Hollis to Paula's new house -- not the old house, but the new house -- and let Paula massage him and make him feel better about the situation and it would go away. And I said, surely you know that's not going to make that go away. He's very upset. He cornered me in the dry storage unit about how upset he was. And I said, it's not going to help. It's not going to make it go away. But he said that's how they planned to handle the situation. Q. Are you aware that Karl did go and speak to Big Will and that Big Will told him that he wasn't terrified, he wasn't shaken; that Bubba put his hand on his shoulder and said words to the effect, be a man, speak up? A. Yes I'm aware. Big Will told me that he
said that, that he was scared to tell the truth Q. So Karl did investigate it and he went
to - for lack of a better word, the horse's mouth -- he went and spoke to Will, and said, Will, tell me what happened?
A.
274
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
anyone. He said the attorney asked him and he was scared to tell them. Q. Now, that's us. I'm talking about right
after this happened when you -A. Oh, he didn't tell me that Karl
specifically asked him. He just said to me he was scared to tell anyone because he had a family to feed, and he would be terminated,, and that he was scared of Bubba. Q. So you're not here to tell us that Karl
Schumacher did not go and go out and say, Bubba excuse me -- Big Will, tell me what happened? A. Q. A. I'm not aware of that. You're assuming it didn't happen, I guess? I'm assuming it did not since he was still
terrified when he spoke to me. MR. FRANKLIN. That's all I have. MR. WITHERS; Couple more things in followup. FURTHER EXAMINATION BY MR. WITHERS: Q. You mentioned again the message you got from Big Will, and I think you even testified earlier that that was a text message? A. Uh-huh.
275
:1. 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
ci
Q. Were you instructed or have you maintained all electronic information related to this case? A. Q. A. lJh-huh. I mean -Yes? I don't really know how to do that. I
mean, it's -Q. Did you maintain the electronic information related to this case; for instance, the text messages that you are describing for us now? A. Yes.
Q. And every other text message with respect to any of the people that you've identified that you have communicated with, have you provided those to counsel, as well? A. Yes. MR. WITHERS: That's all I've got. MR. WOOLF: One more question. FURTHER EXAMINATION BY MR. WOOLF: Q. Is the policy and procedure manual also
20 21 22 23 24 25
known as a -- was there a new employee handbook that was being developed? A. I guess that's what it was called, was the
276
1. 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
new employee handbook. MR. WOOLF: Okay. That's all. MR. WITHERS: I'd like this on the written record. We would request copies of any of those text messages that your client has exchanged with any witness in this case. MR. WOOLF: Yes. MR. FRANKLIN: And we've asked for them. MR. WOOLF: Yes, you have got some, and I thought all. But I will go back and recheck and we'll get them to you if there are some that have not been forwarded. Okay?
Case 4:12-cv-00139-WTM-GRS Document 176-1 Filed 05/15/13 Page 277 of 281 Filed .03101/13..Pag 277 of 281 CaseA; 12-cv-00139-WTr, - S.,.ocumnt1Q14 SEAI.Et
277
I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
9
CERTIFICATE
STATE OF GEORGIA: COUNTY OF CHATHAM: I hereby certify that the foregoing transcript was taken down as stated in the caption, and the colloquies, questions and answers were reduced to typewriting under my direction; that the transcript is a true and correct record of the evidence given. I further certify that I am not a relative or employee or attorney of any-party in the case; nor am I financially interested in the outcome of the action. The party taking this deposition will receive the original and one copy based on our standard and customary charges.
This, the 19th day of February 2013.
10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
A. &Aj-
DEBORAH 0. BLACK r CCRB 617 My commission expires on the 8th day of October 2014.
278
1 2 3 4 5
6
DEPOSITION OF: LISA T. JACKSON Pursuant to Article 10.B of the Rules and Regulations of the Board of Court Reporting of the Judicial Council of Georgia, I make the following disclosure: I am a Georgia Certified Court Reporter. Deborah 0, Black, Inc. was contacted by the offices of Oliver Maner, LLP to provide court reporting services for this deposition. Deborah 0. Black will not be taking this deposition under any contract that is prohibited by OCGA 9-11--28(c) and 5-14-37 a) & (ID)
7 8 9 10 11. 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Deborah 0. Black has no contract/agreement to provide reporting services with any party to the case, any counsel in the case, or any reporter or reporting agency from whom a referral might have been made to cover this deposition. Deborah 0. Black will charge its usual and customary rates to all parties in the case, and a financial discount will not be given to any party to this litigation.
2/19/2013
Case 4:12-cv-00139-WTM-GRS Document 176-1 Filed 05/15/13 Page 279 of 281 Case.4:12-cv-00139-WTM-GRS . Document 1014 *SEALED* Filed 03/01113 . Page 279 of .281
279
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
DEPOSITION OF LISA T. JACKSON I do hereby certify that I have read all questions propounded to me and all answers given by me on the 11th day of February 2013, taken before Deborah 0. Black, and that:
1) 2)
Pursuant to Rule 30(e) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and/or the Official Code of Georgia Annotated 9-11-30(e), both of which read in part: Any changes in form or substance which you desire with with to make shall be entered upon the deposition for - for making them. a statement of the reasons given Accordingly, to assist you in effecting corrections, please use the form below: Page No. Line No, should read:
:i.o
11 12
4
Page No. 13 14 Paae No. 15 16 Page No. 17 18 Page No. 19 20 Page No. 21 22 23 PaQe No. 24 25 No.
Line No.
should read:
Line No.
should read:
Line No.
should read:
Line No.
should read:
Case 4:12-cv-00139-WTM-GRS Document 176-1 Filed 05/15/13 Page 280 of 281 Case 4:12-cv-00139-WTM-GRS Document 101-1 *SEALED* Filed 03/01/13 Page 280 of 281
280
2 3 4 5
6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Page No.
Line No.
should read:
Page No.
Line No.
should read:
PacTe No.
Line No.
should read:
Pag e No.
Line No.
should read:
Page No.
Line No.
should read:
PacTe No.
Line No.
should read:
Page No.
Line No.
should read:
Page No.
Line No.
should read:
Page No.
Line No.
should read:
Page No.
Line No.
should read:
Page No.
Line No.
should read:
Page No.
Line No.
should read:
51
281
I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Page No,
Line No.
should read:
Page No.
Line No.
should read:
Page No.
Line No.
should read:
Page No.
Line No.
should read:
Page No.
Line No.
should read: -
If supplemental or additional pages are necessary, please furnish same in typewriting annexed to this deposition.
LISA T. JACKSON Sworn to and subscribed before me, this the day of , 20 Notary Public______________________________ My commission expires_________