Exercise, Food, Small Law Firms

There's No Such Thing as 'Free Breakfast' When You're a Lawyer

Everyone knows that "there ain't no such thing as a free lunch." But what about a free breakfast? That's what one New York small-firm lawyer is insisting upon in a $730,000 lawsuit filed on Tuesday against his posh gym, the Setai Club & Spa Wall Street....

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Everyone knows that “there ain’t no such thing as a free lunch.” But what about a free breakfast? That’s what one New York lawyer is insisting upon in a $730,000 lawsuit filed on Tuesday against his posh gym, the Setai Club & Spa Wall Street….

Although personal injury law may not be an elite practice area, attorney Richard J. Katz is clearly a member of the one percent. After all, the gym he’s suing has a $5,000 annual membership fee. Katz contends that his gym membership was predicated upon Setai’s offer of a “full complimentary breakfast” each and every day.

His firm, Richard J. Katz LLP, is located just a few blocks from the Setai Club, so it’s no wonder that the man is enraged over the fact that he can no longer eat the most exquisite breakfast possible before heading into the office. The New York Post and the New York Daily News have more information on the delicious delicacies that Katz claims he is missing out on:

“They had a full restaurant menu like you get in a hotel — omelets, pancakes, waffles, yogurts, meats, juices,” he said. “Whatever you wanted.” [NYP]

“It was a full-blown hotel breakfast,” said Katz, 53, who lives in the West Village with his wife. “I’d go to the gym in the morning, have a spa and a nice quiet breakfast and do some work — they mucked it all up.” [NYDN]

And this is why people hate lawyers. Because this guy is suing for more than half of a million dollars over his inability to get bacon and eggs at the gym.

Why on earth is breakfast so important to this man? Here’s some food for thought: bring something with you from home. But that was not an option for Katz, who is an apparent follower of the Tannebaum Tenet (never bring a bagged meal to work).

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Maybe we can find out why Katz loves breakfast so much by taking a look at his complaint against Setai (available here). Katz alleges that Setai knew that the club would be unable to make good on its promise of a “full complimentary breakfast,” but Katz nevertheless relied on that promise to his detriment.

(If Above the Law were Pee-wee’s Playhouse, everyone would be screaming really loud right now, because everyone’s favorite secret words just dropped.)

58. Defendants knowingly and purposefully promised a “full complimentary breakfast” with the knowledge that same would not be provided.

59. The acts of the defendants were illegal, despicable, reckless, malicious, deliberate, and immoral.

You hear that, Setai? You do not mess with a man’s breakfast. That’s just despicable and immoral.

Katz kind of gives a whole new meaning to the term “eggshell plaintiff,” because if you don’t give this lawyer his eggs, you’re in trouble.

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Katz v. Setai Club Complaint [New York County Supreme Court]
NYC Health Club Member Sues Over Breakfast Promise [New York Times]
Member sues club for reneging on ‘complimentary full breakfast’ promise [New York Post]
Manhattan lawyer Richard Katz sues spa over free breakfast [New York Daily News]
Suit by NY Lawyer Claims Health Club’s Cold Breakfasts Broke Full-Menu Promise [ABA Journal]

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