HOUSTON – A culinary arts school implicated in a former director’s wrongful termination lawsuit has provided an original answer, per recent Houston federal court records.
Culinary Institute, Inc. and its owner, Alan Lenotre, dispute claims of “unequal treatment, discrimination, and harassment” raised by Isabel Olivas a month ago.
In their 7-page response filed on July 23, the defendants assert that they fired Olivas “for legitimate reasons unrelated to her sex and/or national origin.” Olivas alleges the school “exclusively hired” French chefs and paid her male counterparts more than her.
“Any differences between the plaintiff’s salary and that of a male predecessor in the same position with Culinary Institute were not based upon the plaintiff’s gender,” court papers state.
The respondents additionally argue that they “did not act intentionally, recklessly, or maliciously toward” Olivas.
“The defendants’ conduct toward the plaintiff was not extreme and outrageous,” the answer says. “The defendants’ actions did not cause the plaintiff emotional distress. If the plaintiff suffered emotional distress, which is expressly denied, this emotional distress was not severe.”
Peter C. Blomquist and James P. McInerny of the law firm Hartline Dacus Barger Dreyer LLP in Huston are representing the school and Lenotre.
Houston Division of the Southern District of Texas Case No. 4:18-CV-1854