Yahoo Finance Former Beverage Cart Attendant 'Forced' to Endure Sexual Harassment by Wealthy Golf Club Members: Lawsuit
Raymond Babaian, Valiant Law
A former beverage cart attendant is suing a golf club for over $15 million after she says she was groped and sexually harassed by members while working there.
In documents obtained by PEOPLE and filed in Orange County Superior Court on Jan. 24, 26-year-old Peyton Stover claims that management at Old Ranch Country Club in Seal Beach, California, failed to protect her from harassment and assault by its affluent members.
"A lawsuit filed today says a Seal Beach golf club forced a young beverage cart attendant to endure club members' ongoing sexual advances," reads a release from Stover's law firm obtained by PEOPLE.
Stover, originally from Washington state, was hired to serve refreshments at the upscale golf club in April 2019, her lawyer, Raymond Babaian said in a statement. However, within months of starting the job, Stover "complained that members repeatedly touched and propositioned her and forced her to drink with them."
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According to the court complaint obtained by PEOPLE, one member allegedly told Stover he would pay $300 to see her breasts and then lifted her shirt in the presence of other members. The member allegedly pushed her against a golf cart and poured alcohol on her to force her to drink.
Stover claimed another club member kissed and threw money at her and asked her to move into a spare room above his garage — a request she denied. A different member also allegedly "attempted to groom" Stover by asking her to start a sex toy business with him.
Raymond Babaian, Valiant Law
"I was really scared and nervous," Stover said in a statement to PEOPLE. "I didn't have any support, and I was convinced they were not going to do anything to protect me."
Stover alleged she was encouraged by the club to give out her personal phone number so members could contact her about drinks and that some used the information to send her explicit messages, according to the court documents.
She claimed when she approached management about the harassment, their response implied club members "pay enough" to do "as they wish," Babaian said in a statement.
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"Old Ranch expected [Stover] to keep club members happy and as a result, she felt as though she had no other choice but to allow this conduct to continue despite her prior cries for help," according to the suit, signed by Babaian, a partner at Valiant Law.
Old Ranch General Manager Frank Herrera said he could not "comment on open legal proceedings" when reached by PEOPLE. Manager Mitchel Queen, who is named in the lawsuit, did not respond.
PEOPLE also reached out to Old Ranch's parent company, Invited, formerly known as ClubCorp, for comment, but did not immediately hear back. The company is based in Dallas, Texas, and owns or operates more than 200 golf and country clubs worldwide, their website says.
Raymond Babaian, Valiant Law
According to court documents, Stover is pursuing economic damages above $5,000,000 and compensatory and non-economic damages over $10,000,00. Additionally, she claims Old Ranch required her to work long hours without meals or rest breaks, and she is seeking compensation for underpayment of wages and "other wage-and-hour violations."
"It's shocking that any employer would tell an employee that club members pay enough to grope who they want, but that's exactly what the Old Ranch told my client," Babaian said in a release obtained by PEOPLE.
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"A country club is not a 'gentleman's lounge' where women are just there to be objectified," he continued. "No employee should have to submit to inhumane and degrading acts in exchange for having a job that pays her living expenses. The club took advantage of an inexperienced and scared employee because it wanted to put profits over safety."
Babaian said Old Ranch viewed Stover as "another revenue-producing tool to help the club boost the bottom line."
Stover called her time at the golf club "the most traumatic experience I ever had."
"It took a long time after leaving that place for me to feel stronger," she told PEOPLE in a statement. "This really hurt my feelings of self-worth."
