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I haven't heard of this ever going to court... But we'll see what happened. The manager was pretty stupid about this IMHO... The customer can turn around and file crazy false arrest charges, extortion, fraud, etc. If he has food allergies, he could also file for attempted murder. You could be sure that the guy is going to start complaining to the board of health on a daily basis about the place.
If the restaurant loses in court, they set a crazy precedent. I would think a lawyer may have a reasonably easy time convincing a judge that a gratuity is not mandatory. I would think that he comes into court and says that the labor law relationship is between the waitress and the restaurant, and that the restaurant is paying her the minimum wage. For the restaurant to be forcing an employer-employee relationship between the customer and employee because he had 9 people on the bill is not legitimate. But the restaurant filed the theft of service charge, not the waitress - which means that the restaurant is acting as a the recipient of the money instead of the waitress. Yet the waitress is the one who according to labor laws is supposed to be the one to do this. Very intereresting.
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