PORTLAND, Ore. – The woman whose story went viral when she sued a Portland Italian restaurant, claiming the staff refused to serve her on Valentine's Day, has agreed to a settlement in the case.
Kathleen Hampton's lawsuit had demanded a public apology and $100,000 in damages. However, the public will never know what she got, if anything. That's because both Hampton and restaurant owner Enzo Lanzadoro signed a confidentiality agreement, as part of the settlement.
The final papers filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court Monday showed that the case has now been dismissed with prejudice, which is legal jargon meaning it can never be reopened again.
The lawsuit stemmed from a 7 p.m. reservation Hampton made at Enzo's Caffe Italiano on Feb. 14. She had claimed that when she arrived for her time slot, the staff treated her poorly because she was African American.
"I know I was discriminated against from beginning to end, because of my color," she stated in the original complaint. "I said I needed a menu so I could order and she [the waitress] told me that they were not serving me and I had to leave and release the table. I really felt discriminated against, because of my color."
In a previous interview with KGW, Lanzadoro defended his staff, explaining that the restaurant was serving a special five-course meal, in honor of the romantic holiday, and there were certain seating restrictions on that day. He said customers were told they wouldn't be seated until their entire party arrived and tables could only be used for groups.
According to court documents, Hampton said her husband backed out at the last minute, so she decided to go by herself. The two had apparently gone on a lunch date earlier in the day and her husband didn't think he had the appetite for the big Italian meal.
The court documents stated that Hampton noticed she was the only African American person in the restaurant and felt that white people were given priority over her.
"I seen them ushered a white couple in to the bar with a reservation time of 7:30, which was behind mine, and sat them down at the bar and gave them a glass of wine," she wrote in the complaint.
The staff's description of what transpired that night was similar to Hampton's, but with some additional details.
Lanzadoro said when Hampton arrived alone, they assumed her date was still on the way. So they offered her a glass of wine to sip on while she waited. He said Hampton did not tell the host that her date had cancelled, so she was eventually seated at a table and then given a second glass of wine.
"When the waitress asked her if the other person was coming, she said, 'No, he's not coming.' At that time, because of that day - Valentine's Day – the waitress said, 'Sorry you cannot take a table by yourself, you can either sit at the bar or outside,'" Lanzadoro said, in the previous interview with KGW.
The court documents stated that at that point, Hampton just wanted to leave. "People of color know when you are not wanted in a restaurants, store or any other place you are attempting to go," she wrote in the complaint.
After he was originally served papers for the lawsuit, Lanzadoro said he felt it was all a big misunderstanding and hoped he would be able to talk with Hampton and work things out.
Due to the confidentiality agreement, we will never know if they had that talk. But both sides did sign the settlement on April 4 and whatever was worked out, did not appear to include a public apology.
Lanzadoro was represented by Portland attorney Andrea Bartoloni, who specializes in business law. Hampton represented herself in the case.
