In April 2016, plaintiff Vanessa Scott-Allen was denied a captain (head server) position by The French Laundry, a restaurant in Yountville. Scott-Allen previously worked as a captain at Per Se, a restaurant in New York that is owned by the same person who owns the French Laundry. She claimed that she resigned her position and moved from New York to California with the intent of taking a job at the French Laundry. She claimed that after she had moved to California, the offer for the transfer was withdrawn because Michael Minnillo, a general manager at the French Laundry, learned of her pregnancy. Scott-Allen sued Minnillo; the operators of the French Laundry restaurant, French Laundry Restaurant Corp. and French Laundry Partners, L.P.; the operators of the Per Se restaurant, Per Se and TKNYC, LLC; the restaurants’ management company, KRM Inc.; and the proprietor of the restaurants, Thomas Keller. Scott-Allen alleged that the defendants’ actions constituted fraud, deceit, and gender and pregnancy discrimination in violation of the Fair Employment & Housing Act. Scott-Allen claimed that when she paid a social visit to the French Laundry and originally met Minnillo, she told him that she and her husband were thinking of moving to the West Coast and that Minnillo told her, “We’d love to have you.” She alleged that based on Minnillo’s comment, she notified the general manager of Per Se that she wanted to look into transferring to the French Laundry and that the managers at both restaurants agreed to the transfer. She claimed that around the same time she learned that she was pregnant and notified the general manager of Per Se about her pregnancy. Scott-Allen claimed that after she disclosed that she was pregnant, she was told that she needed to sign resignation documentation as part of the transfer process. Plaintiff’s counsel argued that Pro Se’s action of getting Scott-Allen to sign resignation documentation was to dupe her into quitting because she was pregnant. Scott-Allen further claimed that after she moved to California, she learned that her start date was pushed back and that when she showed up to meet the management team at the French Laundry, she learned that Minnillo was in New York, visiting Per Se. She claimed that at the meeting, she spoke with another manager who asked her about her pregnancy, including if she felt she could do her job while pregnant, how much maternity leave she planned to take and when she expected to stop working. She claimed that the manager then told her that she would get back to her about her training schedule after speaking with Minnillo. Scott-Allen claimed that after Minnillo learned that she was pregnant, he informed her that the position was no longer available and that there were no positions available at the French Laundry, despite their being three positions available. Defense counsel denied that Minnillo had ever offered Scott-Allen a job, contending that even if Minnillo told her only, “We’d love to have you,” when she paid a social visit to the restaurant, the comment did not constitute a job offer and was a simple miscommunication. Counsel also contended that during that visit, Scott-Allen told Minnillo that she and her husband were moving to Lake Almanor, about four hours away from the French Laundry. In addition, Minnillo testified that even before he learned that Scott-Allen was pregnant, he did not consider her a good fit for the French Laundry’s culture based on him having previously worked with her at Per Se in New York., Scott-Allen claimed that as a result of resigning from Pro Se and being denied the position at the French Laundry, she suffered a loss of earnings. She also claimed she lost her health insurance and was unable to see doctors for first-trimester check-ups, which caused her emotional distress. Scott-Allen sought recovery of at least $1 million for lost wages (past and future potential) and $770,000 in damages for her emotional pain and suffering. She also sought recovery of punitive damages. Defense counsel contended that Scott-Allen had fully mitigated her damages after quickly getting a comparable job at The Restaurant at Meadowood, in St. Helena.