COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS SUPERIOR COURT DEPARTMENT OF THE TRIAL COURT SUFFOLK, ss. N ATA L I T E N E , CIVIL ACTION NO. Plaintiff, 2018- M A R I O B ATA L I , Defendant. COMPLAINT AND JURY DEMAND Introduction The Plaintiff, Natali Tene ("Ms. Tene"), brings this action against Defendant Mario Batali ("Batali") for assault and battery, violation of Mass. G. L. c. 12 ยง 111, and intentional infliction of emotional distress following a sexual assault Batali committed upon Ms. Tene at Towne Stove and Spirits, a bar and restaurant located in Boston, Massachusetts, in or about April 2017. Ms. Tene seeks damages for the severe emotional distress she has suffered due to the famous celebrity chef and business moguPs sexual assault against her, which was carried out in broad public and in a brutally dehumanizing fashion. Parties 1. Ms. Tene is an individual who resides in Middlesex Coimty, State of Massachusetts. 2. Mr. Batali is an individual who resides, upon information and belief, in the State of New York. Jurisdiction and Venue 3. The Jurisdiction of this Court is lawful and proper as the Plaintiff lives in Massachusetts and Defendant?s unlawful acts occurred in Massachusetts. 4. Venue in Suffolk County is lawful as the Defendant?s unlawful acts occurred in Suffolk County. Facts Common to All Counts 5. Ms. Tene is a 28-year-old woman. 6. Batali is a 57-year-old man. 7. Upon information and belief, Batali was at the times relevant herein the owner of a restaurant business known as Eataly and located at 800 Boylston St, Boston, MA 02199. Batali also owns and operates many other restaurants across the United States and around the world, and is a well-known ?celebrity chef? who markets various products and business enterprises using his name, likeness, and reputation. 8. The bar and restaurant known as Towne Stove and Spirits is located at 900 Boylston St, Boston, MA 02115, close to Eataly. 9. In or about April 2017, Batali and Ms. Tene were both in Towne Stove and Spirits as patrons. 10. Ms. Tene recognized Batali as a celebrity and took a photograph of him with her telephone camera. 11. Batali noticed Ms. Tene taking this photograph, and then lured her into his proximity by offering to take a ?sel?e? with her, so that both he and she would be in the photograph. Ms. Tene was familiar with Batali?s career, was excited to be in a photograph with a celebrity, and walked over to Batali to take the photograph. At no time before this did Batali indicate any sexual interest in Ms. Tene. 12. As soon as Ms. Tene was in Batali?s proximity and ready to take the ?sel?e,? and without asking her permission or giving her any warning, and without having received any indication that she had any sexual interest in him whatsoever, which she did not, Batali sexually assaulted her. 13. Speci?cally, Batali grabbed and kissed Ms. Tene?s face, rubbed her breasts, grabbed her buttocks, put his hands between her legs and groped her groin area, and kept forcefully squeezing her face into his as he kissed her repeatedly. 14. Batali?s actions were without warning or permission, were unwanted and disgusting, and made Ms. Tene feel shocked and highly uncomfortable. 15. Batali?s actions were carried out in public and as such were dehumanizing and humiliating for Ms. Tene. 16. According to multiple media outlets, Batali has a reported history of sexually abusing and assaulting much younger women. The online publication ?Eater,? reported on May 30, 2018, that a woman named Sara Watson ?spotted Batali at a bar near her home in New Orleans in January 2016.? Watson reportedly told Eater: feel like he literally treated me like a piece of food . . . He put his tongue in my ear, he licked my face, he grabbed me, touched me all over.? 17. Eater further reported: Earlier in the evening, she?d been at the Link Foundation?s ?agship nonpro?t event Bal Masque that Batali had catered, but she didn?t expect to see him at her local dive bar, the Saint, hours later, she said. Watson, a self-described food lover who said she ?admired? Batali and was thrilled to get the chance to try his food at the event, decided to ask for a photo. But the encounter quickly devolved from there, she said. Within moments he was touching her, allegedly made a comment about wanting to give her oral sex, tongued her face and ear, and put his hands ?all over my butt, thighs, the whole vaginal area,? she said, before she could push him off and walk away, stunned and horri?ed. Eater also reported that Jenny McCoy, a pastry chef and cookbook author, told Eater that soon after meeting Batali at an event in New Orleans in 2007, he vigorously rubbed her breasts when wine was spilled on her chest. Eater reported that it had spoken to multiple other women who told similar stories. Batali has admitted to behaving quite inappropriately with women. On December 1 1, 2017, the New York Times reported that when confronted about numerous reports of sexual assaults and harassment, Batali responded: ?Although the identities of most of the individuals mentioned in these stories have not been revealed to me, much of the behavior described does, in fact, match up with ways I have acted.? On May 25, 2018, Eater reported that the TV program 60 Minutes had reported that ?Batali drugged and sexually assaulted a woman at New York City restaurant, the Spotted Pig? and was ?tmder criminal investigation by the It further reported that his business partners were ejecting him from the companies in which he participated due to his sexual misconduct. On August 20, 2018, the New York Times reported that Mr. Batali and some of his colleagues in New York were being investigated by the state of New York in connection with the Spotted Pig. The Times quoted Batali as having given a prior statement, saying ?There is no question I have behaved terribly? and ?There are no excuses. I take full responsibility and am deeply sorry for any pain, humiliation, or discomfort I have caused.? C0_unt_1. ASSAULT AND BATTERY 18. Plaintiff repeats the allegations set forth above as if fully contained herein. 19. Defendant unlawfully placed Plaintiff in immediate fear that he was about to touch her in a sexual manner. The fear of touching was unwanted and shocking. 20. Defendant unlawfully touched Plaintiff in a sexual manner without her permission. The touching was unwanted and shocking. 21. Defendant?s conduct caused Plaintiff to suffer severe emotional distress. Count INTENTIONAL INFLICTION OF EMOTIONAL DISTRESS 22. Plaintiff repeats the allegations set forth above as if fully contained herein. 23. Defendant?s behavior towards Plaintiff as described herein is outrageous and exceeds all bounds of decency tolerated in a civil society. 24. Defendant?s behavior was unwanted and taken for the purpose of in?icting emotional trauma upon Plaintiff. 25. As a result of the abuse, Plaintiff has suffered extreme emotional distress, including but not limited to reoccurring intrusive memories, anxiety, self-doubt, fear of intimacy, a general feeling of being disrespected and a speci?c fear of being assaulted and/or touched in an inappropriate manner in public. Count VIOLATION OF MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL LAWS CHAPTER 12, SECTION 111 26. Plaintiff repeats the same allegations above as if contained forth fully herein. 27. Mass. G. L. c. 12 111 allows for a private right of action for ?any person whose exercise or enjoyment of rights . . . has been interfered with? by another person through threats, . intimidation, or coercion. 28. Defendant?s demands for sexual conduct interfered with Plaintiff?s right to be free of sexual assault and improper touching in public places. 29. Defendant intimidated and forced Plaintiff into receiving sexual contact from him in order to remain present in Towne Stove and Spirits. Prayers for Relief WHEREF ORE, Plaintiff resPectfully requests that the Court grant her the following relief: i. Enter judgment in her favor and against Defendant on all counts of the complaint; ii. Award damages to Plaintiff in an amount determined by the Court including both compensatory damages and punitive damages; Grant such other and ?n'ther relief as the Court deems proper. Jug! Demand PLAINTIFF DEMANDS A TRIAL BY JURY ON ALL COUNTS SO TRIABLE. Dated: August 22, 2018 NATALI TENE By her attorneys, 6A0 KM m5 Eric M. Baum (will seek admission pro hac vice) 24 Union Square East Fourth Floor New York, NY 10003 212-353-8700 ebaum@eandblaw.com Meat?? Matthew J. Fogelman 653916) FOGELMAN FOGELMAN LLC 189 Wells Avenue, Suite 302 Newton, MA 02459 617-559-1530 mj