A San Diego gay man won a $1.4-million judgment against The Lodge at Torrey Pines last month after suing the hotel for sexual orientation discrimination and retaliation. He also earned a $155,000 judgment against the Lodge’s food and beverage director, Jean Weiss, who allegedly continually subjected the employee to offensive and degrading remarks, as well as “gay-bashing jokes.”

The Lodge has since filed an appeal with the California Supreme Court. The court has 60 days to decide whether it will hear the case.

The original jury verdict entered in February 2005 in favor of the plaintiff, Scott Jones, was overturned by Superior Court Judge Richard E. Strauss, who said it was “inconsistent with current state of California employment law.” Strauss cited McRae v. Department of Corrections, a similar discrimination case that applied a more strict adverse action standard, which was the current legal opinion at the time.

Subsequently, the state Supreme Court adopted a less-restrictive definition of what constitutes an adverse action with its decision on Yanowitz v. L’Oreal, and, using the latest definition, the appellate court found “the evidence was sufficient to support the jury’s finding that [Scott] Jones suffered adverse employment action.”

“I thought [the decision to reinstate the jury verdict] was absolutely accurate,” said Scott Toothacre, Jones’ attorney.

Toothacre said that a jury found 12-0 in favor of Jones, and that the jury verdict was later confirmed by the appellate court.

“There is no doubt that there was discrimination and retaliation,” he said. “If you consider saying ‘I am going to punch the faggot in the mouth’ to be discrimination, or accusing him of blackmailing the hotel when he says he’s being harassed; there was numerous, numerous retaliatory conduct and harassing conduct.”

Robert Gleason, CFO and general council for Evans Hotels, said he disagrees with the decision and is personally saddened by it.

“I personally was involved in every aspect of this case, and I vehemently deny the allegations,” said Gleason, who is openly gay and serves on San Diego’s LGBT Center board of directors. “You have a situation where you have an employee who is underperforming and has increasing performance problems. … And like so many situations there are two sides to every story, and certainly this story.”

Gleason added: “In this particular case, the employee believed he that he was being discriminated against on the basis of his sexual orientation, which just wasn’t the case. I think to say otherwise does a disservice to me as an LGBT person and the LGBT community as a whole.”

Jones – who held several positions at the Lodge, including manager of the restaurant and bar, catering and banquet events and the beverage-cart service to the club’s golfers – testified that Weiss and kitchen manager Jerry Steen developed “a special bond of joke telling” that involved daily jokes and sexual remarks about women employees and Jones.

In May 2001, Jones sent an interoffice memo, stating: “Please refrain from your unprofessional remarks.” He testified that Weiss responded by calling Jones into his office and delivering a tirade, after which he crumpled up the memorandum and “threw it at him.”

According to court documents, Jones testified that harassment and retaliation continued until he submitted his resignation on Jan. 22, 2002.

In May 2003, Jones filed against Weiss, Steen and Evans Hotels.