Two former female employees of a Philadelphia-area restaurant group won a $200,000 verdict after suing the company for protecting and enabling a sexual predator.
The lawsuit, filed in Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas by attorney Ryan Grace, alleged two claims of negligence against Fearless Restaurant LLC, and two claims of assault and battery against Daniel Razionale, 37, Philadelphia.
According to the lawsuit:
Fearless, with a registered business address in Haverford, owns several restaurants, including Moshulu in Philadelphia and Rosalie in Wayne. Ownership and management of Fearless had a close relationship with Razionale’s family.
Razionale was charged in February 2020 with defiant trespass and prowling and loitering and pleaded guilty in January 2021. That case was related to peeping at a Bryn Mawr apartment building. He was ordered to undergo a psychosexual evaluation and sentenced to two years of sex offender probation.
In July 2023, Razionale was charged with similar conduct at a Radnor apartment complex. Three women then came forward accusing him in an ongoing series of nonconsensual touching and sexual harassment against them at Fearless restaurants.
That resulted in three new criminal charges of harassment, to which Razionale pleaded guilty in May 2024. He also pleaded guilty to another loitering and prowling charge and was sentenced to a total four years of probation and ordered to have no contact with the victims.
“Throughout the course of the assaults, the victims reported defendant Razionale’s misconduct to defendant Fearless,” the lawsuit stated. “In response to complaints by victims, defendant Fearless refused to terminate the employment of defendant Razionale. Defendant Fearless did not reprimand defendant Razionale or subject him to corrective training and/or supervision in response to allegations of sexual misconduct on its premises.”
One of the plaintiffs worked with Razionale at Rosalie beginning in September 2021. The suit says he would repeatedly come up close behind her at work and begin breathing heavily on her ear, collar and face in a manner that was “unmistakably related to sexual gratification and/or domination.”
Razionale continued this behavior despite the woman repeatedly telling him to stop, which culminated with Razionale touching her inappropriately in November 2022.
The second plaintiff began working at Rosalie in August 2022 and experienced similar behavior from Razionale, including overt sexual comments and innuendos despite her telling him to stop.
That harassment culminated in November 2022 with Razionale approaching the second plaintiff while she was kneeling down and maneuvering his body so that he could rub himself against her hand.
That plaintiff reported the incident to management, which failed to provide any reasonable care to the woman or discipline Razionale and but forced her to continue working with him.
Fearless agents attempted to dissuade the second plaintiff from reporting the misconduct, suppressed her reports and retaliated with mistreatment on the job.
Fearless eventually transferred Razionale to another restaurant.
The suit alleged that Fearless knew or should have known that Razionale was on sexual offender probation and took no steps to protect the plaintiffs or other employees.
The verdict slip indicated the jury did not find Fearless knew or should have known of any criminal conduct by Razionale at the time of his hiring or that the restaurant group could have reasonably foreseen he would assault either plaintiff. But the jury did find Fearless guilty of negligence that caused both plaintiffs to suffer damages.
Each plaintiff was awarded $100,000.
Attorneys for the defendants are seeking a judgment in their favor notwithstanding the verdict because the jury found for Fearless on the negligent hiring claims.
The motion also asserts the court made procedural errors and that the verdict went against the weight of the evidence. That motion is pending before Judge Lyris Younge.