Alpine Country Club responds to suit over wine spilled on $30K purse by suing its waiter

After wine was spilled on $30K purse at Alphine Country Club, the purse’s owner sued. The club is filing a cross-claim against the waiter.

After an Alpine woman sued a Bergen country club for $30,000 in damages when a waiter spilled wine on her ultra-expensive purse, the country club has responded by suing the waiter, records show.

In a response to the Oct. 29 lawsuit filed by Maryana Beyder against the Alpine Country Club, the country club denied almost every one of Beyder’s allegations — including that it was liable for the damage to her Hermès Kelly bag — and capped off the response by suing its own employee, according to court records.

The action is called a cross-claim, where one defendant sues another in the same proceeding.

“So basically what this is is that they’re asking the employee to pay whatever they owe under the law to my client,” said Alexandra Errico, Beyder’s attorney. “So they’re suing their own employee that they hired.”

Calls to Kenneth Merber, the attorney for the country club, were not immediately returned.

The response filed Thursday is the latest in a year-long tug-of-war between the club and Beyder after a dinner went awry, allegedly leaving a luxury handbag irreversibly damaged.

On Sept. 7, 2018, Beyder was having a meal at the Alpine Country Club in Demarest when a waiter spilled red wine on the pink handbag, according to the lawsuit. The handbag was rare — having been discontinued — and essentially irreplaceable. The bag was a 30th-birthday gift for Beyder from her husband, Errico said.

For nearly a year, Beyder tried to resolve the issue with the country club directly, the lawyer said. But the club dragged out the discussions and stopped being responsive, she said. Even the insurance company was dismissive, failing to understand why a bag would cost so much, she said.

While Errico acknowledged that the waiter’s spill was an accident, she clarified that any lawsuit needs to describe in detail what happened, in this case specifying who spilled the wine, causing the damages, she said. The waiter was not named in Beyder’s lawsuit, being called only “John Doe.”

“The way the story read is that somehow we’re blaming the employee,” Errico said. “We’re not. Not at all. You go to any restaurant. You have a leather jacket on. 100 dollars. 50 dollars. 20 dollars. If a waiter spills on it and it’s destroyed, you’re expecting the restaurant to compensate you for that particular item.”

Louis Pechman, an employment attorney who says he has handled at least 200 restaurant-pay lawsuits, said the waiter should not be liable.

“In general, the labor laws protect waiters from having deductions from their wages because of breakage, walkout or other issues that are really the responsibility of the restaurant or the catering hall,” said Pechman, who founded WaiterPay, a website that promotes awareness of restaurant employee rights.

For now, there is nothing for the waiter to do except wait until he’s identified and served, Pechman said. At that point, the waiter will likely have to hire a lawyer himself, he said.

But Pechman sees the cross-claim as unusual and flying in the face of human resources policy that should side with the employee.

“This type of a cross-claim is unheard of,” he said. “Good human resources policy would dictate that the restaurant has the employee’s back, rather than sticking the knife in his back.”

Hermès handbags are often priced in the tens of thousands. In 2017, a Hermès handbag sold at an auction in Hong Kong for $377,000, breaking the world record for most expensive bag sold at auction.

“They did not have to sue their own employee,” Errico said. “It basically shows that they really are acting in bad faith.”

Trail Blazers-Kings odds: Sacramento spotted a few points

Previewing Tuesday’s Portland Trail Blazers at Sacramento Kings sports betting odds and lines, with NBA matchup analysis and picks

The Portland Trail Blazers (4-6) visit the Sacramento Kings (3-6) Tuesday at the Golden 1 Center for a 10 p.m. ET start.

We analyze the Trail Blazers-Kings odds and lines, with NBA betting advice and tips around the matchup.


Place a legal sports bet on this NBA action or other games at BetMGM.


Trail Blazers at Kings: Key injuries

Trail Blazers:

  • PF Pau Gasol (foot) out

Kings

  • PG De’Aaron Fox (ankle) out
  • C Dewayne Dedmon (knee) probable

Trail Blazers at Kings: Odds, lines, picks, and betting tips

NBA odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full set of today’s betting odds. Odds last updated at 10:30 a.m. ET.

Prediction

Trail Blazers 113, Kings 110

Moneyline (ML)

The -139 line for the visiting TRAIN BLAZERS is encouraging given they are 4-6 and yet 3-3 on the road. Also, Sacramento has won just one of its four home games.

Can Sacramento keep up with Portland? That answer seems to be yes as expectations of a close game are quite likely. This game opened up dead even and only slightly tilted toward Portland being a favorite.

New to sports betting? A $10 bet on the Trail Blazers to win outright returns a profit of $7.19.

Line/Against the Spread (ATS)

The slightly better play for this game is taking the TRAIL BLAZERS with the -1.5 points at -121 odds. A Portland cover here (win by two or more points) returns a nicer profit of $8.26.

Portland is 4-2 on the road ATS (5-4-1 overall). Sacramento is 1-3 at home ATS and is 4.9 points off the projections due to a few bad performances. The Kings have improved their pace of play lately, however.

Over/Under (O/U)

The idea is to take the UNDER 221.5 (+105). There is a risk as the two teams combine to produce just 220 points per game. Sacramento yields a bit over 111 points a contest, while Portland gives up 114.6 points per game. Since those two numbers add up just about to 225.5, it makes us hesitant, so bet lightly on the under tonight.

Want some action in this one? Place a bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting tips, visit SportsbookWire.com.

Chris’s NBA betting record: 24-16

Follow @ChrisWasselDFS and @SportsbookWire on Twitter.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services.  Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

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Patience with Nathan Shepherd may pay off for Jets

After returning from a six-game suspension, Jets’ second-year defensive lineman Nathan Shepherd had a sack and three tackles for loss.

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A week ago, Nathan Shepherd returned to the Jets following a six-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs.

On Sunday, he turned in what was easily his best game as a pro. The second-year defensive lineman had a sack and three tackles for loss in the Jets’ 34-27 win over the Giants. Shepherd would have recorded another sack, too, had CB Nate Hariston — who was eventually benched — not erased the play with a holding penalty.

The sack was the first of Shepherd’s career. Playing in 16 games as a rookie last season, he recorded 15 tackles in five starts. Overall, he did little to show why former general manager Mike Maccagnan invested a third-round pick on a Division II product.

Shepherd flashed the potential that impressed NFL scouts on Sunday, though. He finished the game with a Pro Football Focus grade of 82.0, coming off a decent 68.7 grade in the Jets’ 26-18 loss to Miami in Week 9.

Since returning from his suspension, Shepherd has provided a much-needed boost for a Jets team that had been previously reeling.

“It’s good to have him back,” Adam Gase said following Sunday’s game. “His energy level, he’s so happy to be playing football again. That stuff’s contagious.”

It would have been easy for the Jets to dismiss Shepherd after he was suspended for two separate violations of the league’s performance-enhancing drug policy. He didn’t perform well as a rookie and New York’s new regime had no attachment to the Maccagnan holdover.

Instead, Gase and Joe Douglas stuck with the 26-year-old. The sample size has been small, but so far the decision has paid off.

“I feel like I used eight of my nine lives,” Shepherd told NFL Network following his suspension. “I kind of have to treat it like I have a peanut allergy — if I get one more, it’s going to be over for me. That’s just my reality and I accept that.”

A third violation of the NFL’s PED policy would equal a minimum of a two-year ban for Shepherd.

Shepherd’s two failed tests came on June 27 and July 25 while he was recovering from shoulder and groin injuries. The shoulder injury could eventually require surgery. He underwent an MRI on his groin that revealed he needed sports hernia surgery. In response to a change in posture, Shepherd had multiple herniated discs in his back.

Rehabilitating and coming back from suspension, the Leonard Williams trade allowed Shepherd the opportunity to prove that he was still worthy of a roster spot. With his NFL future in limbo, he rose to the occasion on Sunday.

He’s become an asset for the league’s No. 1 rushing defense and the Jets third-round pick from a year ago is finally coming around. It took some patience, but the investment in Shepherd may turn out to be worth it if he continues to play like he did Sunday.

Nets-Jazz odds: Utah a significant home favorite

Previewing Tuesday’s Brooklyn Nets at Utah Jazz sports betting odds and lines, with NBA matchup analysis and picks.

The Brooklyn Nets (4-5) visit the Utah Jazz (7-3) Tuesday at Vivint Smart Home Arena for a 9 p.m. ET start. We analyze the Nets-Jazz odds and lines, with NBA betting advice and tips around the matchup.


Place a legal sports bet on this NBA action or other games at BetMGM.


Nets at Jazz: Key injuries

Nets

  • SG Caris LeVert (thumb) out

Jazz

  • PG Dante Exum (hamstring) out

Nets at Jazz: Odds, lines, picks, and betting tips

NBA odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full set of today’s betting odds. Odds last updated at 9:30 a.m. ET.

Prediction

Jazz 115, Nets 105

Moneyline (ML)

The -250 line for the JAZZ at home is not outrageous. Utah is 5-0 at home in the early going where the Nets are just 1-3 on the road.

Utah allows just 98.1 points per game on the season. Brooklyn scores at nearly 120 points per night. That is quite a contrast in styles. Utah can adapt better than Brooklyn and play much better defense.

New to sports betting? A $10 bet on the Jazz to win outright returns a profit of $4.00. It’s a touch chalky, but it’s better than risking this on a Brooklyn (+200) team that has trouble keeping teams from scoring.

Line/Against the Spread (ATS)

The better play for this tilt is taking the JAZZ with the -6.5 points at -110 odds. A Utah cover here at those odds produces a tidy $9.09 profit – doubling the moneyline outcome.

Brooklyn is 1-3 against the spread on the road and is 7.2 points off projections which makes a Utah cover more likely. Utah is 3-2 ATS at home and exactly six points per game above the cover line.

Over/Under (O/U)

Let’s take the OVER 217.5 (-125). Yes, Utah can clamp down on defense but Brooklyn’s defense is bad enough to push totals up.

Want some action in this one? Place a bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting tips, visit SportsbookWire.com.

Chris’ NBA betting record: 24-16

Follow @ChrisWasselDFS and @SportsbookWire on Twitter.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services.  Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

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UT News: November 12, 2019

UT News: November 12, 2019

November is one of the greatest months for college sports, especially with football on the weekends and basketball during the week to keep the fans occupied. Last night, the Lady Vols basketball team brought joy to the folks on Rocky Top with an authoritative win over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Tonight, the men’s team has a chance to match the women with a victory of their own.

Men’s basketball play tonight

Tennessee men’s basketball faces the Murray State Racers tonight in the second game of their season-opening homestand at Thompson-Boling Arena. The Volunteers will look to extend the nation’s longest active home win streak against their foes from Kentucky.

This is the fourth time the two teams have met, with their last tangle coming in 2006. The Vols are currently a perfect 3-0 against the Racers in a series that was first played back in 1945 in Knoxville but did not resume until 2005 in Nashville.

Tipoff is at 9 p.m. ET and can be watched on SEC Network and online through WatchESPN, and can be heard on local Vol Network affiliates.

NEXT: Rick Barnes meets with the media

Jauan Jennings added to Biletnikoff watch list

Jauan Jennings added to Biletnikoff watch list.

KNOXVILLE — University of Tennessee wide receiver Jauan Jennings has been added to the 2019 Biletnikoff watch list according to the Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation on Monday.

Jennings, a redshirt senior for the Volunteers, is fifth in the Southeastern Conference in receiving yards with 771. He’s also fifth among conference receivers in touchdown receptions with seven.

Jennings has 50 receptions, which is sixth in the SEC. He’s averaging just over 15.4 yards per catch in 2019.

The redshirt senior has recorded three 100-yard games this season and is a team leader for the Vols and has scored multiple touchdowns in a game twice this year.

The Biletnikoff Award, named for former Florida State and Oakland Raiders great, is given to the most outstanding wide receiver in the FBS.

 

Bucs cut former first-rounder Vernon Hargreaves before Saints game

WR Michael Thomas and the New Orleans Saints will play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers without top CB Vernon Hargreaves, who was released Tuesday.

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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers made a big move at cornerback, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Schefter reported that Tampa Bay cut starting cornerback Vernon Hargreaves, their former first-round pick in 2016 out of Florida. Hargreaves had played the third-most defensive snaps of all Buccaneers this season (582), including 46 snaps last Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals. Hargreaves will now go on waivers.

Their pass defense was ranked worst in the league, so some change was inevitable. It’s just strange to outright cut someone who led his position in playing-time at this point in the season, even if Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians benched Hargreaves late in the game for a perceived lack of hustle.

Hargreaves’ release might look as if it’s coming at a strange time, but it makes some sense; at a distant third-place in the NFC South with a 3-6 record, the Buccaneers are shifting their focus towards self-evaluating and figuring out which players will still be here next year. Cutting a former top draft pick sends a clear message that no one is safe, and lacking effort won’t be tolerated.

So what does this mean for the New Orleans Saints? They’re inbound for Tampa Bay, bringing a receiving corps that’s pretty much been a one-man show. Michael Thomas has caught 86 passes this year, while the other wide receivers (Ted Ginn Jr. Tre’Quan Smith, Deonte Harris, and Austin Carr) have combined for 30 receptions. New Orleans has had to get creative in its use of pass-catching tight ends, running backs, fullbacks, and quarterback Taysom Hill to try and pick up the slack.

Sunday should be another big game for Thomas. He dropped a season-high 182 receiving yards on Tampa Bay in their last meeting inside the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, outmuscling every defensive back they tried to assign to him. And he did that with Teddy Bridgewater at quarterback. Without Hargreaves on the field and with Drew Brees throwing to him, there’s no reason Thomas should slow down any time soon.

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Ohio State football sets new all-time high in ESPN FPI metric

Ohio State has been dominant in 2019, and one metric used to track such things by the ESPN FPI has been broken by the Buckeyes.

Ohio State continues to dominate in 2019. Not one single team has been able to provide anything resembling a challenge against the Buckeyes. So far, the season’s opponents have been like a wet paper towel against a freight train.

Now, if we rewind all the way back to the beginning of the year before all the games began, the ESPN Football Power Index had little faith in Ohio State being this dominant. In fact, it was on the fringe of not even appearing on any of the graphics projecting the top teams for the season.

My how things have now changed. Not only has Ohio State been the No. 1 team for a few weeks now in the FPI ratings, just this past week it shattered the all-time high measurement in the points above average rating per Brad Edwards of ESPN.

The Buckeyes points above average in layman terms means that Ohio State is 34.7 points better than your average college football team.  Lookout well-below average Rutgers, you have been put on notice.

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Now, ESPN only began collecting these data sets in 2004, but that’s better than 2005 Texas (national champs), 2005 USC (Pete Carroll dynasty), and 2013 Florida State (Jameis Winston national champs).

That’s quite the achievement, especially since it is only November and there’s still plenty of time to improve the rating. If we are then to forecast where this team will land, well — if history is any indication — it should be in the College Football Playoff and have a great chance of winning the whole ball of wax.

Now, the games have to be played, but this is as telling of a stat when it comes to domination as one can get. If, that is, you put much stock in ESPN’s FPI.

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Daniel Bituli named SEC Defensive Player of the week for second time in 2019

Daniel Bituli named SEC Defensive Player of the week.

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KNOXVILLE — University of Tennessee senior linebacker Daniel Bituli was named Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Week following the Volunteers’ 17-13 comeback victory over Kentucky Saturday at Kroger Field in Lexington.

Bituli had a season-high 19 tackles and helped the Big Orange shut out the Wildcats over the final 30 minutes of the crucial SEC showdown.

He was awarded the honor Monday after he made the key fourth-and-goal stop that sealed the victory for the Vols (5-5 overall, 3-3 in the SEC).

Bituli’s 19-tackle performance is tied for fifth highest by a Power 5 player this season. He had 10 solo tackles and was credited for half a tackle for loss against the Wildcats (4-5, 2-4).

Bituli was also named SEC Defensive Player of the Week after UT beat South Carolina 41-21 on Oct. 28.

Against the Gamecocks, he had a blocked punt that was returned for a touchdown. He also had 15 tackles, including one TFL as the Vols also shut out South Carolina in the second half.