Napa Wine Train hit with race discrimination lawsuit
Friday, 02 Oct, 2015
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A group of women kicked off a Napa Valley wine train last month for being too loud and disruptive, plan to sue the operator for $11 million.
The group of 11 women – all but one is African American – claim racial discrimination and ‘malicious oppression’ in the lawsuit.
The women, part of a Bay Area book club, were escorted off the train while other white passengers were ‘inebriated and acting boisterous’ but were not removed, the suit said.
It felt like we were being singled out because there were others doing exact same thing we were doing," said plaintiff Lisa Johnson.
The women were further angered by a company Facebook post that said the women vented ‘verbal and physical abuse toward other guests and staff.’
That post was soon deleted and The Wine Train’s chief executive, Anthony Giaccio issued an apology days after the incident in August, saying train staff were ‘100% wrong.’
"We accept full responsibility for our failures and for the chain of events that led to this regrettable treatment of our guests."
The Wine Train has since been sold to new owners which include Noble House Hotels & Resorts.
Two of the women claimed they had lost their jobs as a direct result of the Facebook post and the media attention following the incident.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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