TAMPA, Fla. (Legal Newsline) - Florida Burger King customers say they had French fries thrown in their faces and their lives threatened when a worker went crazy.
Maria Santiago and Gregory Richardson filed a lawsuit July 5 in Hillsborough County Circuit Court against Burger King Company, LLC, and its employee Lasandra Shiryce Fowler.
The plaintiffs allege that on June 26, 2024, they were subjected to discriminatory and hostile behavior by Fowler at a Burger King restaurant in Tampa. The situation escalated when Fowler allegedly threw hot fries at them and brandished a box cutter.
The case is reminiscent of another in West Virginia involving a McDonald's and a box cutter. The Florida suit says the plaintiffs were targeted because of they are Muslim.
Richardson said he tried to calm Fowler when she was hostile to a Latin American family, leading Fowler to shout obscenities at him and throw hot French fries. Things escalated when Fowler pulled out a box cutter and swung it at him, the suit says.
The lawsuit claims negligent hiring, supervision, and retention by Burger King and intentional infliction of emotional distress by Fowler. The plaintiffs seek damages exceeding $50,000.
Jonathan Portuondo of Hoss Hernandez in Miami represents the plaintiffs.