Team drivers suing Denny’s after they were refused service

Two team truck drivers are suing Denny’s after they say they were refused service at a South Dakota location. 

Team truck drivers Damon Whitfield and Hector Madera say that they were running from the West Coast to the East Coast when they stopped at a Denny’s in Sioux Falls, South Dakota in 2023. The two men say the waitress on duty ignored them when they sat down, and served other customers who had arrived after them. When Whitfield approached the waitress to ask for service, he says she reacted very poorly. 

“‘We just want to let you know that we are ready to place an order.’ And then she goes, ‘Well, you know what? I’m not serving you people. As a matter of fact, you can get your stuff and go now, or I’m calling the cops.’ And that’s when I’m like, ‘Are you serious?’ And she snatches the menu and snatches the orange juice, and then she storms off, and then she called, and then she was on the phone,” Whitfield said of the incident. 

Madera says he then gave it a try in an attempt to get him and his team driver fed. 

“You know, I waited for her to finish her conversation, and I walked up to her and I said, ‘Excuse me, I apologize, maybe we got off on the wrong foot. Maybe there was a misunderstanding,’ and immediately she just went from, ‘No, there is no misunderstanding. I want you people out of here. You people need to leave and the police are on their way,’” said Madera. 

“I was humiliated. We were humiliated. I had to walk out of there with my head down, just ashamed of the fact that you know, at this point we can’t put up, I wouldn’t put up any sort of resistance,” Madera continued.

The men filed a lawsuit against the Denny’s corporation and the franchise owners on July 17th of this year. The suit alleges that they were discriminated against because of their race. Whitfield and Madera are seeking no less than $4 million in damages, along with additional punitive damages. The suit states that  the team drivers suffered “economic loss, humiliation, embarrassment, emotional distress, and unlawful deprivation of their federally protected right to enjoy equal treatment.”

The team drivers suing Denny’s are requesting a jury trial in Sioux Falls, reported KeloLand News.

Denny’s says the waitress that refused service to the team drivers has been terminated, and the remaining employees at the location have received additional training. 

“We regret this incident and want to apologize to the guests involved,” Denny’s said in a statement. “Clearly, we fell short of our own standards that day and are committed to making it right. As a matter of practice, we do not comment on any specific legal matters, pending or otherwise.”