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Tatas Said He Was Beaten As Kurd At Ali Baba Terrace Now Dispute On Loan and Complaint

By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon
BBC - Guardian UK - Honduras - The Source

SDNY COURTHOUSE, January 29 – Mehmet Tatas worked at Ali Baba's Terrace restaurant a block from the United Nations until, he says, the owner Ali Riza Dogan, Senol Bakir and Tolgahan Subakan learned that he was Kurdish.

Then he was assaulted, and called a terrorist because his "son refused to join the Turkish Army."

He was told to remove his Facebook page so that no one would think Ali Baba's Terrace supported the PKK. Tatas became sick, and sued. 

 Ali Baba's Terrace, which is also accused in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York of discriminating against a gay employee, removed the case to the SDNY, where it was assigned to Judge Edgardo Ramos. 

 On May 27 Judge Ramos held a conference in the case, and Inner City Press covered it, below.

 On November 11, the lawyer for Ali Baba and co-defendant Ali Riza Dogan wrote to Judge Ramos to dismiss with prejudice two of Dogan's counterclaims, for "fraud embezzlement" and "fraud and assault." She wrote that "Mr. Dogan is unable to voluntarily withdraw these two counterclaims as of right, because pursuant to FRCP41(c), such withdrawal must be done 'before a responsive pleading is served.'" But it is hard to see Judge Ramos not agreeing to dismiss these (or nearly any other) counterclaims. Watch this site.

  On October 7, Tatas asked for permission to file 50 interrogatories, since he cannot afford a court reporter for depositions: "Re: Tatas v. Ali Baba’s Terrace, Inc. et al., 1:19-cv-105951 Dear Judge Ramos: I am writing to request permission to serve Defendants additional, substantive interrogatories that go beyond the scope permitted in Local Rule 33.3, and in greater number permitted by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 33(a). I would like to serve an additional 50 interrogatories that will take the place of depositions. I am asking for permission to serve these additional interrogatories as I am pro se and cannot afford the cost of a court reporter for depositions. I asked opposing counsel for permission to serve additional interrogatories on September 23rd, but have not received an answer."  Watch this site.

  It emerged that Ali Baba's Terrace's lawyer in both cases, Diane Krebs, did not want any discussion of settlement to be made public because, she said, of "another case" - on information and belief, the anti-gay discrimination case.

Judge Ramos patiently explained to Tatas that agreeing to a discovery schedule does not mean settling.

On October 23 Judge Ramos held another conference. He approved the 50 interrogatories in place of a deposition; Tatas zeroed in on the restaurant misidentifying the Turkish official he "yelled at and refused to serve" as being the Prime Minister, and not the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Melvut Cavusglu." Judge Ramos told Tatas he could raise that at any trial.

Now on January 29 Judge Ramos held another proceeding. Tatas had an interpreter, not simultaneous; he apologized for typing $500 loans and not $5000, then said it was $1000. Ali Baba's lawyer said they should not be required to respond to discovery requests about Tatas' complaint. Judge Ramos disagreed, since Tatas is claiming retaliation for having complained.

Inner City Press, which is covering both cases, will have more on this. The Kurdish case is Tatas v. Ali Baba's Terrace, Inc. et al., 19-cv-10595 (Ramos).

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