4 February 23 - March 1, 2023 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | MONTH XX–MONTH XX, 2008 miaminewtimes.com MIAMI NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | ART | STAGE | NIGHT+DAY | METRO | RIPTIDE | LETTERS | CONTENTS | ▼ MIAMI BEACH WHOPPER OF A VERDICT JURY AWARDS HEFTY SUM IN BURGER KING BIGOTRY SUIT. BY IZZY KAPNICK T wo Florida residents have secured a $1.19 million verdict in their lawsuit over a late-night trip to a Miami Beach Burger King that ended with homophobic slurs, pepper spray, and an alleged beatdown at the hands of a fast-food security guard. A jury in Miami civil court found that Ray- mond Ortega, a longtime Miami Beach bar- tender, and Toni Llerena, a Florida drag performer, suffered long-lasting trauma stem- ming from the 2018 incident at the Burger King Whopper Bar on Washington Avenue. During the melee, a Burger King employee called the pair “faggots,” and a contracted security guard repeatedly punched Ortega, breaking his jaw and leaving him badly bruised, according to the pair’s lawsuit. The award was entered on February 13 against the restaurant’s then-security con- tractor, Legacy Protection and Intelligence Agency, which abandoned its defense in the case last year. Without any pushback from Legacy, the jury was tasked solely with deter- mining the amount of damages to which Ortega and Llerena were entitled. The duo’s attorney, Matthew Ladd, tells New Times that his clients were blissfully shocked by the verdict. “People see these court cases and the sums that come out of them, and the numbers al- most become a news story in themselves,” Ladd says. “But [Ortega and Llerena] are go- ing to live with this experience embedded in their brain for the rest of their lives, and the jury assigned a value for that pain.” The jury granted $787,750 to Ortega, 33, and $357,700 to Llerena, 36, for mental an- guish, humiliation, disability, pain and suffer- ing and related emotional damages. An additional $50,000 was awarded to Ortega for medical expenses. Ladd says he’s exploring avenues to collect the judgment in light of Legacy’s apparent lack of corporate assets. “This was about respect and dignity,” the attorney says. “Our clients wanted a jury to decide the damages. A cross-section of the community spoke pretty loudly.” The incident took place in October 2018 after Ortega, a gay man, and Llerena, a trans- gender woman, stopped by the Burger King for a late-night meal around 4 a.m. after a trip to the popular club Twist about a block away. The Burger King employee approached and told the pair to leave a dining area so she could clean. Ortega questioned why they were being asked to clear out, as the restau- rant was not scheduled to close. In the ensuing dispute, the duo testified, the employee called them “fucking faggots.” Ortega demanded an apology, and the parties exchanged profanities before the Legacy se- curity guard deployed pepper spray, accord- ing to court documents. “The Burger King security guard attacked both Ortega and Llerena, sprayed them with pepper spray, and then punched and struck Ortega multiple times... in the face, nose, and jaw,” the pair’s 2019 lawsuit stated. Burger King’s lawyers challenged the nar- rative, attempting to portray Ortega as the ag- gressor. The fast-food giant successfully argued its way out of the case late last year, saying that it was not legally responsible for the security guard’s actions because he was an independent contractor. Burger King also avoided liability on negligent hiring claims by presenting evidence that the fast-food worker and security guard had solid employment records and had not been previously involved in major altercations. Ortega, Llerena, and their legal team are challenging the court’s decision to grant Burger King summary judgment, with an eye towards holding the restaurant responsible for paying the verdict sum. Meanwhile, Ladd says he plans to go after Legacy’s insurer, Mt. Hawley Insurance, to collect the amount owed. The insurer denied Legacy’s claim over the incident and declined to provide the company with a defense in court, citing an insurance policy exclusion for incidents involving discrimination, according to Ladd. Ortega and Llerena were well-known in the Miami Beach club scene when the violent incident went down. Llerena, who performs under the moniker TLo Ivy, made a name for herself with her fiery drag shows while Ortega worked as a bartender in the area. Llerena is currently living in Orlando, though she still works in Miami. “They weren’t calling attention to them- selves that night. They just wanted to sit at the table and eat their burgers,” Ladd tells New Times. | RIPTIDE | GET MORE NEWS & COMMENTARY AT MIAMINEWTIMES.COM/NEWS Raymond Ortega and Toni Llerena were attacked at the Burger King Whopper Bar on Washington Avenue in 2018. Photo by Phillip Pessar via Flickr Creative Commons ▼ BROWARD BACK IN THE DOGHOUSE DISGRACED EX-NFL QB MICHAEL VICK IS IN DEBT (AGAIN). BY NAOMI FEINSTEIN F ormer star quarterback Michael Vick’s financial troubles show no signs of ceas- ing, as high-profile sports agent Kyle Thousand is looking to collect an overdue debt for his work in helping the retired NFL star se- cure lucrative broadcast and marketing deals. A petition filed by Thousand on February 14 asks a Broward County court to confirm a $56,750 arbitration award entered against Vick for unpaid fees under his contract with Thousand. Thousand says Vick hired him as his agent in June 2021 to help find, negotiate, and manage broadcasting and marketing deals. The contract required Vick to pay the agent 20 percent of his income from marketing opportunities and 10 percent of his broadcasting income. Thousand claims Vick failed to compensate him for three deals in which he represented the former quarterback. In July 2021, Vick signed a $395,000 deal with Fox Sports Productions to serve as a color com- mentator, analyst, and on-air personality for the network’s football season programming such as Sunday NFL Kickoff, from August 2021 through August 2023. Vick inked a similar deal with FS1 Re- mote Production, AKA Fox Sports 1, for $104,000. Thousand claims he sent Vick the invoice for $50,000 in February. In March 2022, Vick signed a contract with trading card company Panini to sign 2,000 cards with his image for $45,000. Thousand says he agreed to reduce his commission to 15 percent from the Panini deal and sent the $6,750 invoice that same month. Thousand submitted his case to arbitration last November after Vick allegedly failed to pay up. “[Vick] has failed to pay... any amount related to his marketing income and broadcasting in- come from the Panini deal, Fox deal or FS1 deal,” the arbitration claim alleges. Thousand says that on at least two occasions, Vick acknowledged his obligation to pay. In one email included in the filing, Vick pur- portedly said he would get the “invoice paid be- fore August for sure.” Prior to his claim with the American Arbitra- tion Association, the agent alleges, he contacted Vick multiple times, of- fering a payment plan option and fu- ture discounts, but Vick did not re- spond. Vick did not par- ticipate in the arbi- tration, and the arbitrator entered the $56,000 award in Thou- sand’s favor this past December. Thousand’s LinkedIn profile timeline indicates he was working as an independent agent while he was representing Vick. He previously was the head of the baseball division at star-studded RocNation, an entertainment agency founded by rapper Shawn Carter, AKA Jay-Z. Thousand is currently leading the baseball division at Milk & Honey Sports. Thousand’s case is the latest debt collection action against the former football star, who has dealt with his fair share of financial woes. After serving 18 months in prison for running a dog- fighting ring, Vick filed for bankruptcy in 2008. He had accumulated more than $17 million in debt. Vick, who worked to rehabilitate his image and revive his football career, paid back millions before his bankruptcy proceedings were closed out in 2017, according to ESPN. Claims of unpaid debts persisted, however. Among other debt collection cases, creditors filed an action in Broward court against the ex- Atlanta Falcons star in July of last year to collect on a $1.2 judgment debt stemming from loans is- sued to him in 2018. [email protected] AFTER SERVING 18 MONTHS IN PRISON FOR RUNNING A DOGFIGHTING RING, VICK FILED FOR BANKRUPTCY IN 2008.
