Lawsuits

Woman Sues Sizzler Over Anti-LGBT Attack

It sounds like things got heated.
It sounds like things got heated. Photo: Courtesy Sizzler

A Queens woman is suing the operator of a Forest Hills Sizzler for violating her New York City and State Civil and Human Rights Laws during a confrontation that took place in the restaurant’s dining room last September. The complaint, filed by Lambda Legal, alleges that after Liza Friedlander and her two friends returned from the breakfast buffet, the restaurant’s manager accused Friedlander of not paying. He started to insult her, pushed her over, kicked her legs, and continued to attack her verbally, calling her a “fucking dyke.”

At this point, other breakfast customers allegedly joined the attack against Friedlander by physically threatening her and telling her to leave the restaurant. The suit does not explicitly name the manager who allegedly attacked Friedlander, but the News identifies him as Edgar Orellana. He says Friedlander was “violent from the start” and that she became upset when brunch ended. “We told her she could continue eating from the buffet,” he tells the paper. “She tried to hit me with her plate.”

Lambda Legal Files Lawsuit On Behalf of Woman Attacked at Queens Sizzler Restaurant Because of Anti-LGBT Bias [Lambda Legal via NYDN]

Woman Sues Sizzler Over Anti-LGBT Attack