Former Barney’s Beanery Pasadena Host Ordered to Give Second Deposition

A former host at the Pasadena location of the iconic Barney’s Beanery restaurant chain who sued the eatery and several managers, alleging he was wrongfully fired in 2022 in retaliation for complaining about sexual harassment by a female supervisor, has been ordered by a judge to give the defense more deposition testimony.

Cody Rich’s Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit alleges disability discrimination, negligent retention and supervision and violations of various state wage and hour laws. On Wednesday, Judge Virginia Keeny granted a defense motion to send Rich back for a second deposition.

In their court papers, the defense lawyers maintained that Rich appeared late for the first day of his deposition and then asked to leave two hours early. Rich then failed to appear for the second day of deposition questioning and never brought multiple documents he was supposed to have in his possession, according to the defense attorneys’ pleadings.

The judge was not swayed by Rich’s counterclaim that the defense was engaged in “abusive and disingenuous” litigation and discovery conduct.

“Plaintiff has failed to give any satisfactory justification for his refusal to appear for the second day of his deposition and plaintiff has not provided dates that he will attend,” the judge wrote while ordering Rich to appear for the second deposition on a Thursday or Friday within 30 days.

Barney’s Beanery started at an historic site in West Hollywood and now has several locations. Rich was hired as an evening shift host in 2021 at the Pasadena restaurant and disclosed his diabetic condition to a regional manager, who said it would not be a problem, the suit states. Rich also worked some security shifts because he had a wrestling background, according to the complaint.

Rich at first had a good working relationship with Kiana Fanning, a female manager, until she started making sexually harassing advances toward him, including leaning in close and having inappropriate physical contact, the suit filed in July 2023 states.

Management falsely accused Rich of not timely registering his check- ins and being “drunk of the job,” even though the plaintiff explained that he suffered a medical emergency from high blood sugar due to his diabetes, the suit states.

Rich was fired in June 2022 in alleged retaliation for his sexual harassment complaints. He also maintains he was among many Barney’s employees who experienced wage and hour violations, including failure to pay for missed meal and rest breaks and omission to pay minimum wage for all hours worked, including overtime.