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OU Student Amelia Molitor Sues Mixon, Restaurant, Arguing A Bouncer Should’ve Stopped It

A man walks by Pickleman’s Gourmet Cafe in Norman. A woman is suing the restaurant after an altercation with a University of Oklahoma football player there two years ago.
Brent Fuchs
/
The Journal Record
A man walks by Pickleman’s Gourmet Cafe in Norman. A woman is suing the restaurant after an altercation with a University of Oklahoma football player there two years ago.";

Two years after the altercation between Amelia Molitor and University of Oklahoma football player Joe Mixon, Molitor is suing the restaurant where it happened in federal court.

The lawsuit alleges the Campus Corner establishment didn't have a door man or a security guard the night Molitor was punched in the face, The Journal Record’s Dale Denwalt reports:

In the lawsuit, Molitor says the altercation two years ago between her and OU football player Joe Mixon began outside. “Had there been on the premises of Pickleman’s Gourmet Cafe a security guard, doorman, or similar employee, Ms. Molitor would have informed such person or persons of the unwelcomed discussion that had just occurred outside, and would have requested assistance and eliminated the possibility of future similar encounters,” her attorneys wrote in the lawsuit. “Unfortunately, there was no such person or persons at Pickleman’s Gourmet Cafe that night.” When reached Wednesday, the restaurant chain’s director of operations, Brandon Sterr, said the company had not yet learned of the lawsuit, which was filed in Oklahoma City’s federal district court. “Until we actually receive any sort of notification, we’re going to be unwilling to comment,” said Sterr, but he also said that the lawsuit is frivolous.

Business defense attorney Jon Starr told Denwalt that Molitor has an uphill battle to prove negligence. He said that her lawyers have to prove that it’s reasonable for fights to spill over into the restaurant.

“It sounds to me that it’s a stretch,” Starr said. “I don’t know why anyone would expect a restaurant to have a doorman unless they were on notice of an ongoing problem.” . . . “They’re not really supposed to be a fortune-teller and predict what’s going to happen,” Starr said. “But if you can show there’s a history of this that’s gone on in the past, sometimes you can convince a jury that they should have done something more.” Molitor’s attorney, Ben Baker, could not be reached for comment.

In a separate filing, Molitor also sued Mixon in U.S. District Court, alleging negligence, willful and wanton misconduct, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The suit seeks unspecified damages.

Mixon accepted one year of probation in October 2014 after being charged. He entered an Alford plea, where he acknowledged there was likely enough evidence to convict him of misdemeanor assault while still asserting his innocence.

He performed community service and underwent counseling. After being suspended during the 2014 season, Mixon returned to the team last year.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.

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Brian Hardzinski is from Flower Mound, Texas and a graduate of the University of Oklahoma. He began his career at KGOU as a student intern, joining KGOU full time in 2009 as Operations and Public Service Announcement Director. He began regularly hosting Morning Edition in 2014, and became the station's first Digital News Editor in 2015-16. Brian’s work at KGOU has been honored by Public Radio News Directors Incorporated (PRNDI), the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters, the Oklahoma Associated Press Broadcasters, and local and regional chapters of the Society of Professional Journalists. Brian enjoys competing in triathlons, distance running, playing tennis, and entertaining his rambunctious Boston Terrier, Bucky.
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